Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — Rubber rallied to a 15-month high on speculation an improved outlook for the global economy will boost demand for the commodity used in tires.

Futures in Tokyo advanced as much as 2.4 percent to the highest level since Sept. 22, 2008, gaining for a fifth day. A government report showed today Australian retail sales rose in November at more than four times the pace expected by economists, sending Asian stocks higher.

“Investor risk appetite increased on positive economic data,” Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at commodity broker Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo, said today by phone.

Rubber for June delivery gained as much as 6.9 yen to 297.2 yen a kilogram ($3,224 a metric ton) before trading at 292.6 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at 12:47 p.m. local time. Prices more than doubled last year, the best performance since at least 1976, according to Bloomberg data.

Futures trimmed gains after crude oil snapped 10 days of gains, weakening the appeal of natural rubber as an alternative to synthetic products made from petroleum.

Oil for February delivery declined as much as 0.6 percent to $82.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before trading at $82.85 at 12:54 p.m. Tokyo time. Prices declined after a government report showed yesterday an increase in stockpiles in the U.S.

Australian retail sales rose in November by the most in eight months. Sales climbed 1.4 percent from October, when they gained a revised 0.4 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. The median forecast of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 0.3 percent gain.

Rubber for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.2 percent to 24,965 yuan ($3,656) a ton as of the 11:30 a.m. local time break. Earlier, the contract rose to 25,740 yuan, the highest level since July 2008.

Source: Bloomberg

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