"The market managed to stay in the positive territory helped by gains in share and oil prices, but trading was thin and a decline in the Shanghai market weighed on the Tokyo market," said Toshitake Tazawa, analyst at trading house Fujitomi Co.

The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery settled up 0.4 yen at 255.8 yen per kg. The contract rose as high as 257.3 yen.

The most active Shanghai rubber contract for May delivery closed down 0.2 percent at 23,660 yuan per tonne.

The front-month January contract on the SICOM in Singapore was last traded at 279 US cents per kg, down 0.4 percent.

Heavy rains disrupted rubber tapping in Thailand and Indonesia, but recent weakness in global benchmark Tokyo futures and rising inventory in main consumer China weighed on tyre grade prices, dealers said on Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei share average rebounded from the previous session's one-week closing low as hints from US policymakers of progress toward reaching a fiscal deal boosted investors' risk appetite.

Brent crude climbed towards $110 a barrel on Thursday, as US lawmakers appeared to be inching closer to a deal on the "fiscal cliff" and tensions in the Middle East worsened, although investors remained wary of the outlook for oil demand next year.