Japan futures log best week since April as yen weakness offsets soft demand

By Emily Ou Yong

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Japanese rubber futures traded in a tight range on Friday, as a weaker yen countered concerns over softer demand from top consumer China ahead of a holiday period, although the contract notched its biggest weekly gain since April.

• The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery , was up 0.9 yen, or 0.2%, at 452.1 yen ($2.86) per kg.

• The contract gained 4.67% this week.

• The Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed for China's Mid-Autumn Festival. Trading will resume on Monday, September 28.

• The Japanese yen is on track for a second week of decline, as markets earlier judged the Bank of Japan's rate hike to a 31-year high and its latest guidance as insufficiently hawkish. USD/

• A weaker currency makes yen-denominated assets more affordable to overseas buyers. FRX/

• Japan's Nikkei .N225 share gauge rose for a fifth straight session on Friday, driven by gains in AI-related companies and as investors bought ahead of a Monday deadline to qualify for mid-term dividends. .T

• Semi-steel tyre production stood at 61.19% for the week to September 24, down 3.75 percentage points week-on-week, while all-steel tyre production fell 6.49 percentage points to 53.4% over the same period, data from rubber information provider Qinrex showed.

• Downstream tyre demand is falling short of expectations as the long holiday in China approaches, with production activity weakening and purchasing limited to immediate needs, analysts from broker Everbright Futures said in a note.

• Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.7% from last Friday, the exchange said on Thursday.

• The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's SICOM platform for December delivery last traded at 250.8 US cents per kg, up 0.6%.

($1 = 158.0600 yen)