June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber futures gained in Tokyo, erasing early losses, as optimism that the U.S. economy may be recovering from recession spurred gains in oil prices. The contract climbed, after sliding 1.5 percent, as higher crude prices may boost production costs of rival synthetic rubber. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said yesterday that the U.S. recession may end later this year. “Rubber tracks some other commodities, like energy,” Roka Komiya, a trader at Marubeni Corp., said by phone in Tokyo. “Investors are looking for new factors.” Natural rubber for November delivery, the most-active contract, rose 0.6 percent to close at 169.8 yen a kilogram ($1,731 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. Crude oil in New York added as much as 1.9 percent to $69.37 a barrel. The tropical commodity traded between 166.3 yen and 171.3 yen as a stronger Japanese currency helped trim gains in yen- denominated contracts. The yen recovered to 97.88 against the dollar today from 98.57 earlier. Thai farmers have also offered to sell more rubber than in previous months, Rewat Yenchai, an analyst at Bangkok-based AGROW Enterprise Co., said yesterday. Production in Thailand typically increases in June after the end of the so-called wintering season, when trees shed leaves and produce less latex. Rubber for September delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most-active contract, declined 1.1 percent to 15,620 yuan ($2,285) a ton.

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