Tokyo rubber rallies on May 7

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures rallied on Tuesday, tracking Shanghai futures, on market talks that Beijing might tighten checks on certain rubber imports. The benchmark TOCOM rubber contract for October delivery finished 1.5 yen ($0.0136) higher at 190.8 yen per kg. The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 255 yuan ($37.72) to finish at 11,865 yuan per tonne.

TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for November delivery closed down 1.5 yen at 166.3 yen per kg. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for June delivery last traded at 150 US cents per kg, down 0.4 percent. "There are talks in the market that Chinese customs might strengthen inspection on imports of mixed rubber," said Tang Xiaonan, analyst, JLC Network Technology Co Ltd.

Imports of mixed rubber from southeast Asian countries enjoy zero tariff and currently quite some products shipped to China under the item don't actually qualify, Tang said. The US dollar was quoted around 110.56 yen, compared with around 110.76 yen on Monday afternoon. Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday, pressured by concerns that the escalating Sino-US trade dispute could slow the global economy, while US sanctions on crude exporters Iran and Venezuela helped keep the market on edge.