TOCOM hits 10-day high, tracks Shanghai futures

Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures hit a 10-day high on Thursday, buoyed by a slight gain in Shanghai futures, brokers said.

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for tyre rubber prices in Southeast Asia, tend to align with Shanghai futures, which have been struggling to gain ground in recent years amid oversupply and despite firm rubber imports by the world's top consumer China.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for new April delivery debuted on Thursday with an initial price of 199.8 yen (US$1.76) and finished the day up 2.5 cents at 202.3 yen. Earlier it hit an intraday high of 203 yen, the highest since Oct 16.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for January delivery rose 50 yuan to finish at 13,555 yuan (US$2,043) per tonne.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for November delivery last traded at 142.50 US cents per kg, down 1.1 cent.

In market news, Indonesia's car sales in September fell 5.3 from a year earlier, data released by automotive industry association Gaikindo on Thursday showed.