RUBBER-Tokyo futures edge up as yen rise pauses

Key TOCOM rubber futures ended slightly higher on Tuesday as the yen's rise paused and the Shanghai market recovered, although investors remained cautious after the gains of the past two months.

"There are many who are looking to sell after the rapid gains in the past months," said Kaname Gokon, general manager at Okato Shoji Co. "The market will come under strong selling pressure if the yen rises by, say 0.8 yen against the U.S. dollar."

The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery settled up 0.6 percent, or 1.9 yen, at 305.6 yen per kg.

The benchmark contract traded in a tight range of between 306.4 yen and 301.9 yen.

Both the dollar and the euro came under pressure early on Tuesday as investors trimmed some of their bearish bets against the Japanese currency.

The dollar hit an intraday low of 87.23 yen after briefly rising to about 87.89 yen.

The most active Shanghai rubber contract for May delivery closed up 0.4 percent at 26,180 yuan per tonne.

The front-month February rubber contract on the SICOM in Singapore was last traded at 302 U.S. cents per kg, up 0.2 percent.

Brent crude futures steadied above $111 per barrel on Tuesday as investors opted for caution ahead of key data from China and a European Central Bank meeting this week.

Asian shares fell as investors eyed looming corporate earnings for the last quarter of 2012 and the ECB policy meeting. (Reporting by Yuko Inoue; Editing by Tom Hogue)