Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures ended higher on Thursday, supported by a weaker yen against the dollar and strength in Shanghai futures.
"Despite the gains, the worries over weak fundamentals remained, as rubber stockpiles are pretty high," said a Japanese trading source.
Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports stood at 16,606 tonnes as of April 20, up 1.5% from the last inventory date, data from the Rubber Trade Association of Japan showed on Thursday.
TOCOM has been trading below the 200-yen level since late January amid worries over sluggish demand and high inventories.
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for October delivery finished 1.2 yen higher at 192.9 yen (US$1.76) per kg after touching 194.3 yen earlier, near a 1½-month high hit on Tuesday.
The dollar held firm on Thursday underpinned by gains in long-term US Treasury yields and investors focused on US consumer price data later in the day that could show inflation rising.
A weaker yen makes commodities denominated in the Japanese currency cheaper for holders of other currencies.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 70 yuan to finish at 11,680 yuan (US$1,835) per tonne.
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for June delivery last traded at 142.30 US cents per kg, down 0.3 cent.
(US$1 = 109.9000 yen)
(US$1 = 6.3646 Chinese yuan)
