Key Tokyo rubber futures closed marginally higher on Monday after trimming most of their earlier gains as investor sentiment was hurt by a stronger yen and falling oil prices due to concerns about the US debt ceiling. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for December delivery settled up 0.8 yen at 381.9 yen per kg, ending just above the key 50-day moving average which stood around 378 yen on Monday.
The front-month July contract expired at 375.1 yen, down 0.8 yen from the June contract's 378 yen expiry price. Deliveries against the July contract rose to 172 lots or 860 tonnes, up 18 percent from June. The newly listed contract for January 2012 delivery will become the new benchmark when it starts trading on Tuesday. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for January delivery closed on Monday at 35,690 yuan ($5,537) per tonne, down from Friday's 36,110 yuan. Volume fell to 584,164 lots from Friday's 708,164 lots.