Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit their highest in nearly four years on Monday as continued rains in Thailand renewed worries about supply shortage. Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, touched 307.3 yen ($2.70), their highest since February 21, 2013, also buoyed by bullish Shanghai and Singapore futures.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery finished 11.5 yen higher at 305 yen per kg. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 1,135 yuan, or 5.6 percent, to finish at 21,515 yuan ($3,121) per tonne after hitting 21,730 yuan earlier, the highest since January 3, 2014. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for February delivery last traded at 225.9 US cents per kg, up 17.2 cents.
