TOKYO (Sept 5): Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures dropped for a third straight session on Friday, ending the week with a 0.3 percent decline, as the Shanghai market tumbled to its lowest in nearly six years amid worries about excess supplies.

The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) for February delivery fell 2.1 yen, or 1.1 percent, to settle at 197.7 yen ($1.87) per kg.

"The Thai government's sale of its rubber inventory weighed on the prices as it added concerns about an already over- supplied market," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager at Nihon Unicom Inc.

The Thai military government has sold half of the country's 200,000 tonne rubber stockpile to a local rubber exporter and aims to sell the rest by the end of September, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

"Investors are also clearing their positions ahead of U.S. employment data," Kikukawa added.

Analysts expect U.S. nonfarm payrolls numbers due later on Friday to show the pace of job creation picked up slightly in August, with a rise of 225,000 jobs on nonfarm payrolls.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery tumbled 365 yuan to finish at 14,100 yuan ($2,296) per tonne. It fell as low as 14,005 yuan during the session, the lowest intraday level since December 2008.

"The decline in the Shanghai market was due to worries about weak demand in China and oversupply," Kikukawa said.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery was last traded at 161.00 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.80 cents. (1 US dollar = 105.29 Japanese yen) (1 US dollar = 6.1401 Chinese yuan)