Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures shed early losses to end 0.8 percent higher on Wednesday, buoyed by slight gains in oil prices and as investors looked for bargains after a near 4 percent tumble in the previous session.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, managed to stay higher despite sluggishShanghai futures and a stronger yen against the dollar, which makes yen-denominated assets more expensive in other currencies, brokers said.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for December delivery finished 1.5 yen higher at 197.5 yen ($1.74) per kg. During the night trade, it hit 194.2 yen, its lowest in nearly a week.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery fell 225 yuan to finish at 12,830 yuan ($1,888) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for August delivery last traded at 147 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.6 cents. ($1 = 113.2800 yen) ($1 = 6.7968 Chinese yuan)
