Tokyo rubber futures ended higher on Friday as firm oil prices and a weaker yen spurred buying, but profit-taking still capped the gains, dealer said. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for January delivery was up 2.3 yen to settle at 248.1 yen per kg.
"Firm oil and an easing yen at around 99 per dollar helped support TOCOM prices, but profit-taking ahead of the weekend capped the rise," said a Bangkok-based dealer. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery was down 30 yuan to finish at 18,005 yuan per tonne. The front-month September rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM futures exchange was last traded at 224.5 US cents per kg, up 0.5 cent.