TOKYO: Japanese rubber futures reached a three-week high on Monday, extending gains for a third straight session, as hopes for a US stimulus package and stronger oil prices lifted investors’ risk appetite.

Osaka Exchange’s rubber contract for July delivery finished 3.7 yen, or 1.5%, higher at 243.2 yen ($2.3) per kg. It hit the highest since Jan. 18 of 244.5 yen earlier in the session.

The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 85 yuan to finish at 14,765 yuan ($2,288) per tonne.

Aiding sentiment, the world’s biggest rubber buyer China reported no new locally transmitted mainland COVID-19 case for the first time in nearly two months, official data showed on Monday.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for March delivery last traded at 161.9 US cents per kg, up 0.8%. US President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress forged ahead with their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package last week as lawmakers approved a budget outline that will allow them to muscle Biden’s plan through in the coming weeks without Republican support.

Oil prices hit a more than one-year high on Monday, with Brent nudging past $60 a barrel.