Key Tokyo rubber futures held steady on Tuesday after rising more than 1 percent earlier in the day, hovering around 200 yen as investors eyed prices for direction. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for March delivery was at 200.2 yen per kg at 0355 GMT, down 0.2 yen or 0.1 percent from the previous settlement.
The contract rose as much as 1.1 percent to 202.6 yen. Traders are trying to gauge the extent of delays to rubber supplies from Indonesia, the world's No 2 producer, after a deadly earthquake shook the area last week.
Japan's crude rubber inventories totalled 6,145 tonnes as of September 20, down 7.6 percent from 10 days earlier, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed. The latest figure represents an increase of about 41 percent from a year earlier, suggesting demand remains lacklustre.
US crude futures extended gains on Tuesday, staying above $70 a barrel, as data showing the US services sector expanded for the first time since August 2008 raised hopes for an economic recovery. The dollar slipped against the yen, hurting sentiment and helping yen-based rubber futures prices pare earlier gains. Markets in China, the world's top consumer, are closed for a holiday from October 1-8.
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