TOCOM rises tracking Shanghai, bearish investors exit market

BEIJING: Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures closed slightly higher on Wednesday, tracking sharp gains in Shanghai.

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have been under pressure in recent weeks because of high inventories and flat demand.

"The jump was not because of any news on the fundamentals... some investors who were bearish on rubber before got out, pushing up prices," said Cao Lu, a senior analyst with Orient Futures.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery  finished 0.6 yen ($0.0054) higher at 167.3 yen per kg.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 285 yuan ($41.51) to finish at 12,270 yuan per tonne.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery last traded at 132.2 U.S. cents per kg, up 1 cent.