Key TOCOM rubber futures wiped out earlier losses to end slightly higher on Wednesday, partly due to strong car production data in Japan, while gains across other markets on hopes of cheap loans from the ECB also supported prices. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for August delivery ended up 1 yen at 335.9 yen after hitting an intraday low of 332.3 yen.
"It's hard to predict in which direction the market moves at this stage. Investors are waiting to see US job data and other economic data coming next week, which would impact the yen and the stock market in a big way," said Toshitaka Tazawa, analyst at trading house Fujitomi Co. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for May delivery rose 0.4 percent to close at 29,430 yuan per tonne.
The front-month March rubber contract on the SICOM in Singapore was last traded at 380.20 US cents per kg, up 1.2 cents. Dealers said main rubber consumer China is in the market for TSR grades, but many local tyre makers prefer buying the commodity from bonded warehouses because of cheaper prices.