Key TOCOM rubber futures ended 1.7 percent higher on Monday as stronger-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data and a softer yen underpinned sentiment, but volumes remained thin and the market stayed in a range of 325-340 yen. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery settled up 5.4 yen, or 1.7 percent, at 331.1 yen per kg. The benchmark contract rose as high as 332 yen, up 6.3 yen.
The most active Shanghai rubber contract for May delivery ended up 0.3 percent at 27,980 yuan per tonne. The front-month May rubber contract on the SICOM in Singapore was last traded at 374 US cents per kg, down 2 cents. "The market lacks steam and the benchmark contract will likely be locked in a range of between 325 yen to 340 yen for a while, with a falling supply providing support at the downside," said Naoki Asami, chief broker at trading house Kanetsu. Rubber supply in Thailand and Malaysia, the biggest and the third-biggest producers respectively, is falling due to the wintering-dry season that cuts latex supply. The dry season normally last for a few months and ends by mid-April.