Tokyo rubber hits 3-week high on June 7

Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber futures edged higher to a three-week high on Tuesday, as a bull run in equities in top consumer China and gains in Shanghai rubber futures on hopes of a quick economic rebound boosted risk appetite.

TOCOM's rubber contract for December delivery finished 0.6 yen higher at 157.4 yen ($1.46) per kg, after touching the highest since June 15 of 159.7 yen earlier in the session.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for September delivery rose 20 yuan to finish at 10,540 yuan ($1,500) per tonne, its highest close since June 11.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for August delivery last traded at 116.6 US cents per kg, down 0.9%.

Chinese blue-chip shares rose for a sixth straight day to close at a more than five-year high, as retail investors rushed to join an officially sanctioned bull market. A sharp rebound in US services industry activity in June, almost returning to pre-pandemic levels, also helped to whet investors' risk appetite.

"The recent gains in Shanghai equities bolstered an overall market sentiment in the TOCOM," said Jiong Gu, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co.

"But a bullish trend in rubber market may be short-lived due to worries about heavy rains in Southern China which may dent consumers' demand and the tensions between China and India," he said.