"Also, Chinese speculators or physical buyers have been stepping up buying in near-month contracts, which helped boost prices of forward-month contracts," he added. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for June delivery finished 0.3 yen, or 0.2 percent, higher at 183.5 yen ($1.69) per kg.
The TOCOM benchmark, which sets the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, rose 3.7 percent for the week, marking a second straight weekly gain. TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for July delivery fell 0.3 percent to close at 153.5 yen per kg.
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 35 yuan to finish at 11,640 yuan ($1,727) per tonne. Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.0 percent from last Friday,, the exchange said on Friday The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for February delivery last traded at 135.2 US cents per kg, up 0.3 percent.
Oil prices were on track for solid weekly gains on Friday after financial markets were lifted by hopes the United States and China may soon resolve their trade disputes, and as OPEC-led crude output cuts tightened supply. Asian stocks inched up to five-week highs on Friday, after Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated the Federal Reserve will be patient about raising interest rates and news that trade talks between Washington and Beijing are moving to higher levels.
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said rubber is not oversupplied and speculative traders are to blame for low rubber prices as top producers struggle to prop up prices. Tokyo financial markets will be closed on Monday for a national holiday.