Rubber tumbles

BANGKOK - Rubber futures tumbled to the lowest level in three months after the worst earthquake on record in Japan caused power-supply disruptions, forcing carmakers to halt production and raising concerns that demand may slump.

August-delivery rubber, the most-active contract, plunged as much as 4.5 percent, or 17.9 yen, to 383.5 yen a kilogram ($4,665 a ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange before settling at 384.1 yen. The April-delivery contract tumbled as much as 30 yen to at 378.4 yen, triggering a circuit breaker that suspended trading on all contract months.

"People in the Japanese markets are selling commodities now to get cash, and will probably continue doing so," said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at the Tokyo-based commodity broker Fujitomi Co.