Key Tokyo rubber futures rose on Thursday, extending a 12 percent gain made in the first quarter, helped by a weaker yen and higher oil prices. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery closed Thursday up 5 yen at 313.3 yen per kg.
Later in the after-close session, which is counted as part of the following day's session, the contract rose as high as 315 yen, the highest level for any benchmark since early September 2008. The contract closed on Wednesday, the end of the Japanese financial year, at 308.3 yen per kg, more than double the closing level a year earlier on a steady improvement in rubber demand.
A Reuters poll showed on Thursday that strong demand as the global economy recovers and tight supply for seasonal reasons are expected to push Tokyo rubber futures to an 18-month high in April. The benchmark TOCOM sixth-month rubber contract, currently September 2010, was forecast to be at 320 yen ($3.42) per kg at the end of April, the highest since September 2008, according to the poll.
Japanese auto sales jumped by a quarter in March to cap a business year that relied heavily on government incentives, while South Korea's Hyundai Motor continued to rack up impressive sales growth, sending its shares to a record high. The dollar hit a three-month high against the yen on Thursday on talk Japanese investors will look for higher returns abroad as the new fiscal year begins. Asian stocks rose to an 11-week high on Thursday as China's manufacturing industry picked up and foreign buying boosted the technology-heavy markets of Taiwan and South Korea.
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