TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) – Benchmark Tokyo rubber futuresended up 2 percent on Monday, helped by higher oil prices andfresh buying interest amid thin trading.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo CommodityExchange (TOCOM) for October delivery rose 4.1 yen tosettle at 206.3 yen ($2.02) per kg.
The contract jumped to 206.9 yen, the highest since April18. The market got support as Brent crude oil rose towards $110a barrel on Monday, close to a seven-week high, as tensionsmounted in eastern Ukraine and Libya delayed the reopening of adamaged eastern port.
Trading is expected to be thin this week due to the start ofGolden Week holidays this week. Japanese markets are closed onTuesday for a national holiday and will open on Wednesday.
“After some recent selling spree, some investors resumedbuying October contracts amid thin trading,” said Kaname Gokon,general manager of research at broker Okato Shoji.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futuresexchange for September delivery rose 350 yuan to finishat 14,400 yuan ($2,300) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore’s SICOMexchange for May delivery last traded at 169.90 U.S.cents per kg, up 1.6 cents.
($1 = 102.0350 Japanese Yen)
($1 = 6.2536 Chinese Yuan)
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)
– Reuters
