Rubber rises

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rose for a second day on Thursday as investors stepped up buying on concerns over possible supply disruptions in Southeast Asia due to bad weather, dealers said. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for January delivery finished 1.6 yen, or 1.0 percent, higher at 158.1 yen ($1.51) per kg.
On the positive side, the most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery also rose 50 yuan to finish at 11,255 yuan ($1,690.50) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for August delivery last traded at 131.8 US cents per kg, up 0.3 cent.
"Speculations that a typhoon may hit Thailand and cause reduction in rubber output sparked buying, especially for the near-term contracts," said Jiong Gu, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co, pointing to a more than 5 percent jump in the September contract and the October contract.