Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures, which set the tone for rubber prices in Southeast Asia, rose to 9-month highs on Wednesday, amid hopes for export curbs by producers and optimism over the China-US trade deal to de-escalate their year-long trade war. The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubber contract for July delivery finished 4 yen, or 2.1 percent, higher at 197.5 yen ($1.78) per kg, rising for a third straight day and surging to its highest since May 23.

The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 285 yuan to finish at 12,460 yuan ($1,854) per tonne, after touching an about 4-month high of 12,520 yuan earlier in the session. TOCOM's technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract for August delivery closed up 1.4 percent at 166.1 yen per kg.

The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for March delivery last traded at 144.1 US cents per kg, up 2.0 percent. "The recent rally was backed by expectations that producing countries may agree on some measures to help bolster prices and that China and the US would strike a deal," said Jiong Gu, an analyst at Yutaka Shoji Co.

Copyright Reuters, 2019