Tokyo rubber futures jump three percent

Key Tokyo rubber futures rose nearly 3 percent on Thursday as oil prices steadied, with investors encouraged to buy after prices hit five-month lows in Tokyo and Shanghai earlier in the week. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for October delivery closed up 7.1 yen, or 2.7 percent, at 269.4 yen per kg.
Earlier this week, the key contract fell as low as 255.8 yen, the lowest for any benchmark since December 16. The most-active Shanghai rubber futures contract for September delivery rose about 1 percent on Thursday after hitting a five-month low the day earlier Japan's crude rubber inventories totalled 5,610 tonnes as of April 20, down 3.9 percent from 10 days earlier, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Thursday.