Tokyo rubber futures were mostly higher on Tuesday, helped by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke confirming US monetary policy would probably remain easy for some time. Most contracts on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rose between 3.5 and 4.4 yen per kg.
"The market was supported by the Fed chairman's speech, which raised expectation of continued easy policy that could encourage players to park their money in commodities," one dealer said. Benchmark September, which made its debut on Tuesday, fell 1.4 yen from the opening price of 341.2 yen to settle at 339.8 yen ($4.10) per kg. The most active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 220 yuan to finish at 28,550 yuan ($4,500) per tonne. The front-month April contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange last traded at 378.00 US cents per kg, up 2.2 cents.