SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures rose on Wednesday, supported by stronger Tokyo equities and tighter raw material supplies from top producer Thailand.

The Osaka Exchange’s rubber contract for October delivery finished up 2.6 yen, or 1.1%, at 247.5 yen ($1.92) per kg.

“We are still hearing of heavy rain in some parts of Thailand,” said a Singapore-based trader.

Raw material prices, especially that of latex are still high, he added.

Thai latex prices hit their highest level since April 13 at 52.80 baht ($1.53) per kg on Wednesday.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei share average rose 0.9% to its highest close in nearly two weeks on Wednesday, with technology heavyweights leading the rally, after Wall Street closed sharply higher overnight on strong retail sales data.

The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery was down 95 yuan to finish at 12,980 yuan ($1,924.02) per tonne, after hitting its highest since April 22 of 13,175 yuan earlier.

Health authorities in Shanghai faced “huge” pressure to keep China’s most populous city free of COVID-19 as residents were counting down the days until June 1 and the end of their lockdown after almost two months of isolation.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for June delivery last traded at 161.5 US cents per kg, down 0.6%.