Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures hit a 5-1/2-month high on Friday amid tighter supply expectations after top producers said they were considering export curb, but ended lower as investors locked in profits ahead of the weekend.
TOCOM's rubber contract for May delivery finished 1.0 yen lower at 197.0 yen ($1.81) per kg, sliding from the highest since June 24 of 199.7 yen touched earlier in the session. For the week, it gained 5.3%, marking the biggest weekly leap since mid-July.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 240 yuan to finish at 13,280 yuan ($1,887) per tonne, near the late January 2018 highs hit on Thursday.
The International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC), which includes top producers Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, is considering another export curb to help stabilise prices, the group said on Thursday.
Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 11.8% from last Friday, the exchange said.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for January delivery last traded at 147.9 US cents per kg, up 1.4%.
"The ITRC talks on export curb, on top of Thailand's plan to reduce plantations, helped boost optimism this week," a Tokyo-based dealer said.
Thailand's cabinet has approved a 20-year plan to slash rubber plantations by 21% nationwide and increase the value of rubber exports by more than threefold, a government spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
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