Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) futures rose on Wednesday amid hopes that China and the United States are getting closer to signing a trade deal
TOCOM's rubber contract for May delivery finished 2.5 yen ($0.0229) higher at 200 yen per kg
The most-active rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery rose 40 yuan ($5.72) to finish at 12,820 yuan per tonne. China's new technically specified rubber (TSR) 20 futures contract was last up 15 yuan at 10,665 yuan per tonne
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sign the first phase of the Sino-US trade deal
The US dollar was quoted around 109.33 yen, compared with around 109.39 yen on Tuesday afternoon
Oil prices rose on Tuesday in thin pre-Christmas trading after Russia said cooperation with OPEC on supply cuts would continue and amid optimism that the United States and China could finalise a trade agreement
Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average was down 0.2%
The front-month rubber contract on Singapore's SICOM exchange for January delivery last traded at 143.6 US cents per kg, up 0.6.
