Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit a near three-week high on Friday and marked the first weekly gain in eight weeks on firm oil prices and Shanghai futures. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have recovered nearly 7 percent after touching a 27-month low on Nov. 21.
"Without a drastic fall in rubber prices than current levels, it is unlikely to lead to a lack of motivation for reducing the tapping," said a Japanese trading source. "Despite the gains, high rubber inventories are still weighing on physical prices."
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery finished 2.9 yen higher at 161 yen per kg after touching 161.1 yen earlier, the highest intraday level since Nov. 12. For the week, it marked the first gain in eight week, gaining 4.1 percent.
TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for May delivery rose 1.6 yen to close at 147 yen per kg. TSR contract for December delivery expired on Friday trading unchanged at 139.7 yen. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 40 yuan, or 0.4 percent, to finish at 10,915 yuan per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for December delivery last traded at 122.6 US cents per kg, up 1.3 cent, or 1.1 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2018

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