Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures climbed on Monday, snapping a 4-day losing streak and bouncing back from a 10-day low hit last week, as higher Shanghai futures prompted short-covering.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for March delivery finished 4.7 yen, or 2.7 percent, higher at 178.6 yen ($1.72) per kg.
"The TOCOM was just tracking Shanghai move," a Tokyo-based dealer said.
"I think the rebound will be short-lived as it came as some investors in China who have oversold on Friday unwound their positions," he said.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 290 yuan to finish at 13,905 yuan ($2,053.67) per tonne, rebounding from a 3-week low touched last Friday.
The market paid little attention to China's trade data that showed a 36.5 percent drop in import of natural rubber in September from a year earlier.
A softer yen against the U.S. dollar also lent some support to the TOCOM futures, dealers said.
The dollar added 0.2 percent to 103.97 yen, buoyed by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates this year. A weaker yen makes yen-denominated assets more affordable when purchased in other currencies.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for November delivery last traded at 145.8 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.4 cent.
