Tokyo rubber futures inched up on Thursday due to chances of falling production and rising demand backed by brighter prospects in the Japanese economy.
But key rubber futures were facing resistance at 160 yen as the market was concerned about chasing them up further after an eighth straight session of gains, a sequence that saw a rise of about 11 percent.
Benchmark August rubber futures closed at a session high of 159.2 yen, up a slim 0.5 yen. Other contracts were down 1.6 yen to up 0.4 yen.
"Sentiment brightened having confirmed strong demand in Japan," said a trader at a Japanese brokerage, referring to Ministry of Finance import data issued on Wednesday.
The data showed rubber imports for January totalled 76,607 tonnes, up 8.43 percent from 70,650 tonnes a year.
Turnover in TOCOM rubber was estimated at 15,240 contracts lots, compared with 17,497 lots on Wednesday.