Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit a near 16-month high on Thursday, extending gains for a third day, buoyed by expectations of higher demand from top buyer China and supply worries, though it pared some of its earlier gains on profit-taking. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures have risen more than 30 percent since the end of September, while the Shanghai rubber futures have gained more than 20 percent.
The TOCOM rubber contract for April delivery finished 0.7 yen higher at 213.1 yen ($1.95) per kg on Thursday, after touching 217.1 yen, highest since July 2015. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 365 yuan to finish at 16,505 yuan. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for December delivery last traded at 170.4 US cents per kg, down 0.6 cents.