Tokyo rubber futures inched higher on Friday, supported by firmness in oil prices, but the prospect of poor demand in China and a rise in supply due to the Thai government's planned sale of rubber stocks weighed on the market, dealers said. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for September delivery rose 0.4 yen to settle at 223.1 yen ($2.15)per kg.
The Thai government said on Wednesday it planned to sell 200,000 tonnes of rubber from the state inventory in April to replace lost output as farmers stop tapping trees during the dry season. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 60 yuan to finish at 15,450 yuan ($2,500) per tonne. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for May delivery was last traded at 183.5 US cents per kg, down 1.8 cents.