TOKYO RUBBER FUTURES RISE ON SHORT-COVERING

Benchmark TOCOM rubber futures rose almost 2 percent on Thursday, recouping last session's losses as investors covered short positions and as a weaker dollar buoyed the market.

The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for June delivery closed 1.8 percent higher at 261 yen per kg. It finished down 0.3 percent in the previous session.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery gained 1.9 percent at 18,315 yuan per tonne.

"U.S. dollar is weak against the yen. Rubber is taking direction from the dollar and there is some short-covering as well," said Kaname Gokon at brokerage Okato Shoji in Tokyo.

The dollar sagged against the yen on Thursday, weighed down by U.S. yields slipping to two-week lows and an ebb in risk appetite that favoured the safe-haven Japanese currency.

The dollar was down 0.4 percent at 116.800 yen, having come down from a high of 117.815 touched overnight.

Japan's factory output rose in November and manufacturers expect to ramp up production in coming months, data showed on Wednesday, underlining the central bank's view that a pick-up in global demand will help a steady economic recovery.