SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures inched higher on Monday, tracking gains in the Shanghai market and stronger crude prices, although weaker domestic equities capped losses.

The Osaka Exchange rubber contract for March delivery was up 0.9 yen, or 0.4%, at 230.3 yen ($1.55) per kg as of 0200 GMT. The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery was up 25 yuan, or 0.2%, at 12,840 yuan ($1,786) per tonne. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei share average opened down 1.13%.

Oil prices rose in thin trade in early Asian hours, as the US dollar’s strength eased while investors awaited data from China to gauge demand at the world’s top crude oil importer.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange’s SICOM platform for November delivery last traded at 132.1 US cents per kg, down 0.3%.