Rubber retreated for the first time in six days as inventories in China and Japan advanced, raising concern that demand will slow for the commodity used for tires and gloves. The contract for delivery in August fell as much as 1.6 percent to 296.2 yen a kilogram ($3,067 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, before trading at 297 at 11:04 a.m. local time. Futures ended at 301.1 yen yesterday, the highest settlement since Feb. 20. Stockpiles held at Japanese warehouses rose 3.8 percent to 11,363 tons on Feb. 28, the Rubber Trade Association of Japan said yesterday. Inventories in China, the biggest user, rose 4,182 tons to 107,481 tons, the highest level in three years, based on a survey of nine warehouses in Shanghai, Shandong, Yunnan, Hainan and Tianjin, the Shanghai Futures Exchange said on March 8. “Inventories are at high levels in China and Japan because demand is still weak,� Gu Jiong, an analyst at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co., said by phone from Tokyo today. Total vehicle sales in China fell 14 percent from a year earlier to 1.35 million units in February, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said yesterday. The contract for September delivery on the SHFE fell 1.6 percent to 23,615 yuan ($3,795) a ton. Thai rubber free-on-board rose 1.1 percent to 91 baht ($3.07) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand. To contact the reporter on this story: Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok at ssuwannakij@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net

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