Tokyo rubber futures ended higher on Wednesday as crude oil held steady ahead of inventory data, but a firm yen capped gains as trading activity began to slow down ahead of year-end holidays. The most active contract on the key Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently June 2011, settled 3.3 yen a kg a higher at 411.1 yen, having fallen more than 2 percent the previous day.
Tokyo futures rallied to a record of 419.3 yen on Monday. "Since we are heading towards the year-end holidays, I would expect some profit taking activities to set in," said Ker Chung Yang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "The yen is actually strengthening against the dollar. This is not a good sign for TOCOM rubber to gain further momentum upward."
In Shanghai rubber futures, the most active May contract ended at 36,255 yuan per tonne, up from Tuesday's close of 36,030 yuan. Volume was moderate at around 704,000 lots. Thai RSS3 grade jumped to an historic high on Monday to track a rally in Tokyo futures, while tyre makers were chasing nearby cargo despite rising prices due to supply disruption in Southeast Asia, dealers said on Monday.
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