<p>By Ruth Chai</p>
<p>Feb 13 (Reuters) -</p>
<ul>
<li>Japanese rubber futures fell for a third straight session on Friday as liquidity thinned ahead of a weak-long holiday in top consumer China.</li>
<li>The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for July delivery (JRUc6)   (0#2JRU:)  was down 1.7 yen, or 0.49%, at 346.1 yen ($2.26) per kg, as of 0202 GMT. The contract has lost 1.09% so far this week.</li>
<li>The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for May delivery  (SNRv1)  fell 150 yuan, or 0.91%, to 16,400 yuan ($2,375.57) per metric ton. The contract has gained 1.77% so far this week.</li>
<li>The most-active March butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE (SHBRv1)  fell 255 yuan, or 1.99%, to 12,580 yuan per ton.</li>
<li>Liquidity and trading volumes in the market have thinned ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in China, according to LSEG-compiled data.</li>
<li>Many Chinese manufactures have announced plans to halt production for a break or to undergo maintenance, thus feedstock demand is expected to slow significantly next week.</li>
<li>However, demand from overseas manufactures will provide a floor under prices, Huatai Futures Research Institute said in a note.</li>
<li>Spot prices are also expected to remain firm due to an increase in production costs in Thailand, which may also indicate a supply squeeze, China-based commodity data provider SunSirs said in a note.</li>
<li>The yen  (JPY=EBS)  was set for its best week in almost 15 months on Friday.</li>
<li>It was last steady at 152.86 per dollar and set to gain nearly 3% for the week.  (USD/)</li>
<li>A stronger Japanese currency makes yen-denominated assets less affordable to overseas buyers.  (FRX/)</li>
<li>The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for March delivery  (STFc1)  last traded at 191.5 U.S. cents per kg, down 0.5%. ($1 = 153.2400 yen) ($1 = 6.9036 yuan)</li>
</ul>

RUBBER-Japan futures extend declines as Chinese factories wind down for holiday