Key TOCOM rubber futures rose on Wednesday for the first time in three days, but gains were limited in the absence of fresh signs of recovery in the global economy as the United States teeters on the edge of a fiscal cliff. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery ended 1 percent higher at 246 yen per kg, the high for the day.
Since the re-election of US President Barack Obama, markets have been focusing attention on how a divided Washington will tackle the series of mandated tax hikes and spending cuts that start to take effect next year and could pitch the world's largest economy back into recession.
Tokyo rubber is likely to range trade around the 245 yen level in the near future without fresh economic impetus "with the upside limited to 250 yen," said Kanami Gokon, chief strategist at Okato Shoji Co in Tokyo. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for May delivery rose 1.2 percent to 23,995 yuan per tonne. The front-month December rubber contract on the SICOM in Singapore was last traded at 278.50 US cents per kg, up 2.4 cents.