TOKYO: Japanese rubber futures climbed on Friday on worries that transportation bottlenecks from Southeast Asia were limiting availability of near-term supply and that the spread of the pandemic may cause labour shortage in rubber farms. Osaka Exchange’s rubber contract for June delivery finished up 3.4 yen, or 1.4%, at 241.4 yen ($2.1) per kg. It booked 1.4% gain for the first week of 2022, marking a second weekly gain.

“We hear there are still bottlenecks in transportation from Southeast Asia to consumer countries such as Japan and China, which encouraged buying,” a Tokyo-based dealer said.