Tokyo rubber futures rose on Thursday as a soft yen induced light short covering, but gains were later pared after strength in the US dollar sputtered.
The benchmark November rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange inched up 0.2 yen per kg to finish at 149.6 yen, after wavering between 149.3 yen and 150.7 yen.
Other months rose by 0.3 to 1.9 yen. "The moves today were mostly due to currency markets," a Tokyo broker said. He said firmness in other contracts such as some of the energy futures had also lent some support.
Trading in the benchmark contract, however, has largely stuck to a range between 148.0-151.6 yen this week. The dollar was at 109.54/60 yen at TOCOM's close, compared with 110.00 yen in late New York trade.
The US currency lost some of the previous day's gains after reports that a car bomb had exploded near a US military base in Baghdad, killing 25 people and wounding dozens more.
Turnover in TOCOM rubber was estimated at 3,614 lots, down from Wednesday's 3,982 lots.