Tokyo rubber futures jumped 3 percent to a seven-month high on Monday on a weaker yen and a landslide victory in Japanese elections by the LDP, signalling aggressive monetary easing that could boost a fragile economy and push demand, dealers said. The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange for May delivery rose 7.8 yen to settle at 284.2 yen ($3.40) per kg. It rose as high as 8.6 yen, or 3.1 percent, to an intra-day high of 285.0 yen, the highest since May 14.

The most-active rubber contract on Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery was up 255 yuan to finish at 25,345 yuan ($4,100) per tonne. The front-month January rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange was last traded at $2.93 per kg, up 2.1 cents. "It was weaker yen that spurred buying and the victory of the LDP also hinted there could be more easing monetary policies to boost weak economy," said a Bangkok-based dealer. Dealers said TOCOM rubber was likely to rise further on Tuesday as technical sentiment improved after prices finished above a major resistance of 280 yen.

Copyright Reuters, 2012