Rubber fell to a one-week low as concerns grew that demand from China, the largest consumer, may weaken after data showed the nation’s economy slowed for a second quarter.

Rubber for delivery in December on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange lost as much as 2.1 percent to 233.5 yen a kilogram ($2,335 a metric ton) and was at 234.6 yen at 9:57 a.m. after a holiday yesterday. Futures extended last week’s 2.7 percent loss, the first weekly drop since the five days through June 14.

Growth in developing economies in Asia will be weaker than initially estimated this year and next amid a slower expansion in China and lackluster export demand from advanced nations, the Asian Development Bank said today. Expansion in China’s gross domestic product decelerated to 7.5 percent last quarter from 7.7 percent in the three months through March 31.

“Concerns that demand from China and other emerging markets will weaken sapped investor appetite for futures,” said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo.

China may grow 7.7 percent this year and 7.5 percent in 2014, in part as a strengthening yuanweighs on external demand and weaker domestic consumption curbs imports, the ADB said.Southeast Asia will probably grow 5.2 percent this year from an earlier prediction of 5.4 percent, according to the bank.

Rubber for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added 0.4 percent to 17,410 yuan ($2,837) a ton. Natural rubber inventories climbed by 109 tons to 114,230 tons, the bourse said on July 12, based on a survey of nine warehouses in Shanghai, Shandong, Yunnan, Hainan and Tianjin.

Thai rubber free-on-board fell 1.2 percent to 79.35 baht ($2.55) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.

Source: Bloomberg