TOKYO (Nov 2): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures extended gains on Thursday after touching a four-month low earlier this week, as the US dollar hovered near a 3½-month high against the yen and Shanghai futures rose to a two-week high, brokers said.
A weaker yen makes commodities denominated in the Japanese currency cheaper for holders of other currencies.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery finished 1.4 yen higher at 199.8 yen (US$1.75) per kg.
The key contract touched a four-month low on Tuesday, dragged lower by weak Shanghai futures, while worries over sluggish demand weighed on sentiment. Japanese markets are closed on Friday for a national holiday.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery finished 220 yuan higher at 13,785 yuan per tonne after touching 13,905 yuan, the highest since Oct 16, in late trading.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for December delivery last traded at 141.70 US cents per kg, up 1.1 cents.
(US$1 = 113.8900 yen)
