Rubber rallies 3.7 pct on supply concerns

Rubber futures rallied on Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) on Friday, on expectations China may top off its stocks and on continued supply concerns.

Better-than-expected US data released overnight also helped improve the sentiment for commodities, traders said.

As of 10:30 GMT, the most traded April 2011 contract was at 371.1 yen ($4.45) per kilogram, up 2.7 percent on the day, and 3.3 percent higher from last week's close.

Supplies from Thailand, the world's largest producer of natural rubber, are also reduced by heavy rains and floods affecting the major yielding areas of the country.

Spot price of ribbed smoked sheet (RSS) -3 grade rubber rose by 1.17 baht to 124.30 baht ($4.14) in Thailand's Songkhla market on Friday.

Production in India is also severely hit by bad weather in Kerala, a southern state of the country which contributes more than 90 percent of India's total output. India is no.4 producer of the commodity in the world.

US jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 439,000 in the week ended Nov. 13, less than market consensus of 441,000, Labor Department figures showed. The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance dropped to the lowest level in two years, while those receiving extended payments climbed.

Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in November to the highest level this year. The Fed Bank of Philadelphia's general economic index rose to 22.5 from October, sharply higher than market forecast of 5. Readings above zero signal expansion.