TOKYO (Nov 24): Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures prices hit a one-week high on Friday, marking the first weekly gain in four and buoyed by a gain in Shanghai futures and stronger oil prices.
US oil prices jumped to a two-year high on Friday as North American markets tightened on the partial closure of the Keystone pipeline connecting Canadian oilfields with the United States.
Soaring oil prices helped boost risk appetite among investors, dealers said.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for April delivery finished 4.4 yen, or 2.3%, higher at 195.7 yen (US$1.76) per kg, after hitting the highest since Nov. 15 of 196.0 yen earlier in the session. Japanese markets were closed on Thursday for a national holiday.
For the week, the benchmark marked a 2.8% increase.
The TOCOM’s November rubber contract expired on Friday at 183.6 yen per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 160 yuan to finish at 13,845 yuan (US$2,096) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOM exchange for December delivery last traded at 142.1 US cents per kg, up 0.3 cent.
(US$1 = 6.6025 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(US$1 = 111.4000 yen)
