Rubber reached the highest in almost two weeks, recording a fourth monthly gain after data showed Japan’s industrial output climbed for the first time in six months, adding to optimism the global recession is easing. Rubber for October delivery surged 5.4 percent to 164.3 yen a kilogram ($1,681 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the highest since April 20. Japan’s factory production climbed 1.6 percent in March from the previous month, when it dropped 9.4 percent, the Trade Ministry said. The median estimate of 33 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 0.8 percent gain. “The production data was better than expected and boosted optimism that raw material demand may improve,” Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker Fujitomi Co., said today by phone. Rubber prices have added 7 percent this month and 21 percent this year. Futures also rose after the Japanese currency dropped, boosting the appeal of yen-denominated contracts for the commodity traded globally in dollars. The yen traded at 97.75 per dollar at 5:57 p.m. Tokyo time, versus a one-month high of 95.63 on April 28. The dollar gained after a U.S. government report showed consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the U.S. economy, increased at a 2.2 percent annual pace last quarter, the most in two years. September-delivery rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most-active contract, gained 1.1 percent to 14,615 yuan ($2,142) a ton.

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