Tokyo, Shanghai rubber up

Key Tokyo rubber futures rose for a third consecutive session and ended 1.3 percent higher on Thursday, helped by a rise in the Singapore market and further improvement in technical factors, but trading was slow ahead of a European Central Bank meeting. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery settled up 3.6 yen at 280.4 yen ($3.65) per kg, which was above the key 25-day moving average of 274.9 yen.
"We see resistance around 281.5 yen hit on Dec. 26. Commodities prices could jump, depending on the outcome of the European Central Bank policy meeting tonight, pushing the benchmark contract above resistance," a trader said. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for May delivery closed up 0.2 percent at 25,315 yuan ($4,000) per tonne. Volume stood at 764,826 lots.