Updates closing prices and adds analyst quote

SINGAPORE, July 26 (Reuters) -

• Japanese rubber futures ended higher on Friday as traders tracked firmer physical rubber prices, although the contract logged a downbeat performance this week.

• The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for January delivery JRUc6, 0#2JRU: closed up 2.4 yen, or 0.76%, at 317.7 yen ($2.07) per kg. The contract logged a weekly loss of 0.41%.

• The September rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SNRv1 rose 15 yuan, or 0.1%, to finish at 14,365 yuan ($1,981.60) per metric ton. It shed 1.41% this week, posting its sharpest weekly drop since July 5.

• The price of Thailand's benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) RUB-RSS3C-BKK rose 1.12% to 80.07 Thai baht ($2.22) per kg on a free-on-board basis, according to LSEG data.

• Overall demand from tyre manufacturers continued to remain muted this week, said Farah Miller, CEO of independent rubber-focused data firm Helixtap Technologies.

• Amid stable Chinese demand and ample inventory levels, buyers turned cautious following the drop in rubber futures earlier this week, Miller added.

• Both Osaka and Shanghai rubber futures slid to two-month lows on Thursday.

• The yen JPY=EBS on Friday was at 153.66 against the dollar, set for a 2.5% rise for the week, its biggest weekly gain since late April-early May. Traders unwound long-held bets against the frail currency ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data, and a global stocks rout drove investors towards safe assets, including the yen.

• A stronger Japanese currency makes yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers. FRX/

• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will visit China from July 26-31, aiming to improve trade with China. One of the panels of the Italy-China Business Forum, to be held in Beijing on Sunday and Monday, will be dedicated to the automotive sector.

• The front-month August rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's SICOM platform STFc1 last traded at 161.2 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.4%.

($1 = 153.6800 yen)

($1 = 7.2492 yuan)

($1 = 36.0800 baht)

Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Sherry Jacob-Phillips

For morning and afternoon prices at Thailand's state-run central rubber market, click on RUB-BKK3.
For other physical rubber prices in Thailand, click on RUB-BKK1, RUB-BKK2.
For more details on Indonesian and Malaysian prices click on RURKJK and RUQG.
* Reuters Terminal users can see cash and futures rubber prices by double clicking on the codes in the brackets:

- Tokyo rubber futures -- 0#JRU:
- Shanghai rubber futures -- 0#SNR:
- Singapore rubber futures -- 0#SRS:0#SRU:0#STF:
- Thai rubber futures -- 0#ARU:0#ASR20:
- All rubber news RUB
- Tokyo rubber report RUB/T
- Shanghai rubber report RUB-CN
- Thailand rubber report RUB/TH
- Asian rubber report RUB/AS

For Related News and other topics, double click on one of these codes: SPEED GUIDES RUBBER1, SOFTS/NEWS1