TOKYO: Japanese rubber futures tracked the Shanghai market higher on Friday and were headed for a fifth consecutive weekly rise, though weak Japan factory output data made some investors cautious and limited gains.

The Osaka Exchange rubber contract for April delivery was up 3.2 yen, or 1.4%, at 234.0 yen ($2.1) per kg, as of 0439 GMT.

For the week, the benchmark was headed for an about 1.3% increase. The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery was up 210 yuan, or 1.4%, at 15,110 yuan ($2,364) per tonne on Friday.

Japan's factory output shrank for the third straight month in September as the auto sector was hit by a persistent global supply shortage, raising the risk of an economic contraction in the third quarter and throwing the recovery into doubt.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for November delivery closed at 173.2 US cents per kg on Thursday, up 0.8%.