Tokyo rubber futures rose on Tuesday, tracking the strength of crude oil prices, but trade was light in the absence of fresh factors to provide direction. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery, which debuted on Tuesday, closed the morning up at 314.0 yen per kg.
That was just short of the session high of 314.3 yen, which matched the peak marked on August 14. The contract, which hit a morning trough of 311 yen, opened at 312.2 yen. The previous benchmark, the January contract, closed the morning up 2.2 yen, or 0.7 percent, at 314.3 yen.
A trader said the market was slow as much of the activity consisted of the rolling over of positions from January to February. "I think it's lost direction for now," he said. US crude traded at $115.44 a barrel after settling up 52 cents at $115.11 in the previous session on concerns that a tropical storm might disrupt production.