Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures rose on Friday, shrugging off losses in Shanghai, as China-US trade tensions eased and on expectation of strong seasonal demand going forward. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery finished 0.3 yen ($0.0027) higher at 167.9 yen per kg. For the week, TOCOM rubber futures rose 2 yen per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 15 yuan ($2.19) to finish at 12,330 yuan per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for October delivery was last traded at 132.9 US cents per kg, down 0.7 cent.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, posted its first weekly gain in three weeks, boosted by news of fresh Sino-US talks and an expected rise in demand.
"It is highly likely that rubber will further rise as easing Sino-US tension will facilitate exports and floods in major production areas in India earlier have hurt output," said Hu Ding, analyst with China Futures. "Inventories in the bonded area are at record low levels in about five years. Sales of tyres are usually high in September and October, pushing up prices," said Hu.
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