Japan futures slide as yen strengthens, logs weekly gain

By Emily Ou Yong

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Japanese rubber futures fell on Friday, pressured by a stronger yen and a decline in Tokyo equities, while logging a weekly gain as Chinese tyre production recovered more ground.

• The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for March delivery , was down 4.1 yen, or 0.91%, at 447.9 yen ($2.85) per kg

• The contract gained 0.38% this week

• The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for January delivery rose 45 yuan, or 0.23%, to 19,705 yuan ($2,953.34) per metric ton

• The most active December butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE surged 515 yuan, or 3.29%, to 16,185 yuan per metric ton

• The prices of Thailand's benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) and block rubber were down 0.55% and 1.21% at 95.83 baht per kg and 88.47 baht per kg, respectively

• The Japanese yen was set for its biggest weekly gain since early September, buoyed by safe-haven flows as risk aversion took hold in the broader markets FRX/

• The yen firmed as much as 0.4% on Friday to 156.08 per dollar, its strongest level in more than a month, before giving up those gains to trade at 156.89 by midday USD/

• A stronger currency makes yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers

• Japan's Nikkei share gauge fell on Friday, while the nation's bonds surged and its currency touched a one-month high as heightening concerns about the AI sector spurred demand for haven assets .T

• The benchmark Nikkei 225 .N225 fell 0.34% to close at 62,693.16

• Top consumer China's semi-steel tyre production rate rose to 64.78% as of October 22, from 60.43% a week earlier, while the all-steel tyre production rate climbed to 57.7% from 52.22%, data from rubber information provider Qinrex showed

• The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's SICOM platform for January delivery last traded at 251.1 US cents per kg, up 0.9% as of 0700 GMT

($1 = 157.0500 yen)

($1 = 6.6721 Chinese yuan)