The most actively traded TOCOM rubber future edged higher on Thursday but stayed within its recent range as investors remained worried Europe's debt crisis could spiral out of control. The euro, a yardstick of investor appetite for riskier assets such as rubber, stayed under pressure, with immediate focus on an Italian bond auction later in the day, while Greece goes to the polls on Sunday in a vote that could determine whether it stays in the eurozone.
The most-active Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for November delivery was up 0.8 yen at 243.4 yen. The contract earlier this week touched its lowest since November 2009 at 232.2 yen, driven down by the gloomy outlook for Europe. In Shanghai, the most active rubber contract for September delivery closed down 35 yuan at 22,260 yuan per tonne. The front-month July rubber contract on the SICOM in Singapore was last traded at 284.10 US cents per kg, down 0.9 cents.