Tokyo rubber futures rose to their strongest in more than a month on Wednesday after China's Communist Party chief pledged to ensure stable economic growth next year, offsetting worries about rising inventory in the world's largest consumer of the commodity.
Addressing a politburo meeting, Xi Jinping said in comments reported late on Tuesday the government aimed to stabilise exports and make policies more targeted and effective as the world's second-largest economy faced both favourable factors and challenges next year. The most-active rubber contract on Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently May, settled 3.0 yen or 1.14 percent higher at 265.1 yen a kg after hitting a high of 265.7, its strongest since October 19.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery ended 285 yuan or 1.17 percent higher at 24,610 a tonne, shrugging off rising inventory in the country's warehouses. The front-month January rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange was last traded at 285.90 US cents a kg, up 3.60 cents. "There's a China factor which is supporting the rubber market at the moment. I think 275 yen will be the next target," said a dealer in Singapore, adding that the market could get more support if the yen turns weaker.