Tokyo rubber futures jumped 6 percent to a one-week high on Friday on the back of measures to curb exports by the top three rubber producers and on the prospect of stronger efforts to tackle Europe's debt crisis, dealers said But weaker oil prices and profit-taking after a recent run up limited the gains, they said.
The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for January delivery rose 9.0 yen to settle at 221.0 yen ($2.79) per kg. It jumped as high as 12.8 yen, or 6 percent, to an intra-day high of 224.8 yen per kg, the highest since Aug 8. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery fell 355 yuan to finish at 21,760 yuan ($3,400) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for September delivery was last traded at 251.0 US cents per kg, down 2.1 cents. "It's a combination of Merkel's speech and an attempt to cut exports by major producers that helped support prices. But, the gains were still limited as players took profit," said a Bangkok-based trader.