SINGAPORE, July 25 (Reuters) -

• Japanese rubber futures fell nearly 2% on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger yen and lower oil prices.

• The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for December delivery JRUc6, 0#2JRU: was down 6.2 yen, or 1.92%, at 316.0 yen ($2.07) per kg, as of 0145 GMT.

• The September rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SNRv1 fell 170 yuan, or 1.17%, to 14,345 yuan ($1,975.98) per metric ton.

• The yen rose more than 0.5% to an intraday high of 152.835 per dollar, its strongest in over 2-1/2-months, as traders abandoned short yen bets in the run up to the BOJ's July meeting, where a rate hike remains on the cards. USD/

• Sources told Reuters that the central bank was likely to debate whether to raise interest rates next week and unveil a plan to roughly halve bond purchases, signalling its resolve to steadily unwind its massive monetary stimulus.

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

• Japan's benchmark Nikkei average .N225 fell 3%, dipping below the 38,000 level for the first time since June 17. .T

• Oil prices eased as concerns over weak demand in China, the world's largest crude importer, and expectations of a nearing ceasefire deal in the Middle East overcame gains in the previous session. O/R

• Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil.

• Chinese firm BYD's 002494.SZ electric vehicle sales in Singapore jumped 83% in the first half of this year from the entire 2023 level.

• Automobile sales could influence the intensity of automobile manufacturing, which involves using rubber-made tyres.

• The front-month August rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's SICOM platform STFc1 last traded at 160 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.2%.

($1 = 152.7900 yen)

($1 = 7.2597 yuan)

Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu

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