Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures closed higher on Friday, tracking Shanghai gains, amid hopes that trade tensions between Beijing and Washington will ease after the second round of negotiations. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for October delivery finished 4 yen ($0.0361) higher at 193.9 yen per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 305 yuan ($47.89) to finish at 11,765 yuan per tonne. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, have been slowly recovering since late March.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for June delivery last traded at 142.5 US cents per kg, up 2.0 cents. "Easing trade tensions between China and the US definitely bolstered the market. But for rubber's rise today, it was still due to technical recovery from continuous fall earlier," said Zhu Ziyue, analyst, Hongyuan Futures. "In medium- and long-term though, rubber remains weak due to high inventories and stable demand," Zhu said.