TOKYO: Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures dropped on Thursday as fears of a looming coronavirus pandemic grew after new infections outside China, the source of the outbreak, exceeded new cases within the country for the first time.

TOCOM’s rubber contract for August delivery finished 2.5 yen lower at 180.4 yen ($1.64) per kg. Governments ramped up measures on Thursday to battle a looming global coronavirus pandemic.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an infection of the new coronavirus in California in someone who had not travelled outside the United States or been exposed to a person known to have the virus.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery slid 180 yuan to finish at 11,235 yuan ($1,603) per tonne.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for March delivery last traded at 133.7 US cents per kg, down 1.0%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average fell for a fourth straight day on Thursday, as investors were spooked by the rapid expansion of the global coronavirus outbreak, with the United States reporting its first possible community spread.—Reuters