SINGAPORE: Japanese rubber futures rose on Tuesday to touch a one-month high, driven by a softer yen and expectations among market participants ahead of a meeting between the top leaders from the world’s two largest economies later this week.

The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for April delivery was up 2.1 yen, or 0.8%, at 269.8 yen ($1.78) per kg at closing. The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange (SHFE) for January delivery was up 155 yuan, or 1.1%, at 14,455 yuan ($1,981.68) per metric ton. Against the dollar, the yen last stood at 151.70, languishing near a one-year low of 151.92 hit on Monday. A break below last year’s trough of 151.94 per dollar would mark a fresh 33-year low for the yen.

The White House said on Monday President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss strengthening communication and managing competition when they meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this week. “Anticipating the Biden-Xi meeting later this week, renewed diplomatic relations between the US and China are seen as a positive sign for China’s openness to international business, thus injecting fresh optimism into the markets this week,” said a Singapore-based trader.