The number of contracts traded rose to 53 from 13. "Fundamentally, speculative buying was triggered by supply concerns because latex output dropped during the dry season in Thailand," said one broker.
Thailand's winter season starts at the end of January and runs through to May. Prices are traditionally higher during this period when rubber trees produce less latex.
Traders also cited fresh demand from China ahead of next month's Lunar New Year holiday when many Chinese businesses are closed.
"Technically, players placed buying positions tracking the TOCOM's upturned, bolstered by fresh demand from China ahead of the long holiday," the broker said.
Tokyo rubber futures rose to a 2-1/2 month high on Monday, buoyed by technical buying and a softer yen.
The price of unsmoked sheet number three (USS 3), the raw material for export-grade rubber sheet, edged up to 41.93 baht per kg from 41.40 baht last on Friday. On Thailand's Hat Yai physical market, RSS 3 was at 43.72 baht per kg, up from 43.04 baht.
On Singapore's SICOM, RSS 3 February contract was at $1.22 per kg, up from last week's $1.19. Thailand, the world's top producer and exporter of natural rubber, launched its first commodity futures exchange in May, allowing brokers to trade in RSS 3.