Tokyo rubber futures rose on Friday to their highest since late October and headed for a third of week of gains as strong equities spurred buying from investors, who also expected Thailand to go ahead with a plan to support prices. The most active rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently June 2012, added 2.1 yen a kg to 307.2 yen by 0038 GMT.
It hit an intraday high of 311 yen - its strongest in more than two months. Thailand's National Rubber Committee will seek cabinet approval next week for 15 billion baht ($472 million) to buy rubber after the price of USS3, the rubber sheet sold to factories by farmers, halved since last February. General Motors Co reclaimed its title as the world's top selling automaker for the first time since 2007, after sales of more than 9 million vehicles globally in 2011.