By Supunnabul Suwannakij June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber climbed for a fourth day to a two-week high on optimism that low stockpiles in China, the biggest buyer, and limited supplies from Thailand improved the appeal of the commodity used to make tires. Futures in Tokyo rose as much as 1.9 percent to the highest level since June 1 on speculation that Chinese buyers will soon accumulate rubber as stockpiles dropped to near the lowest in five months. “Low Chinese stocks spurred buying, boosting gains on the Tokyo market,” Kant Julotok, an analyst at commodity broker Agrowealth Ltd., said by phone from Bangkok. Natural-rubber inventories monitored by the Shanghai exchange were 17,881 metric tons, based on a survey of 10 warehouses, the bourse said on June 11. That compares with 151,832 tons on Jan. 21, the highest level since November 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Rubber for November delivery advanced as much as 5.2 yen to 280 yen a kilogram ($3,073 a metric ton) before settling at 278.2 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. The contract earlier fell to 272.3 yen as declining crude oil prices and Greece’s credit-rating downgrade threatened to weaken demand. The Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed today for a holiday, and will reopen on June 17. The September-delivery contract settled at 21,825 yuan ($3,194) a ton on June 11. Thai Supply New supplies in Thailand, the biggest exporter, remain limited as rainfall in southern provinces hampered tapping, lowering latex production and boosting prices, said Kant. “Supply averaged around 200 tons a day this month, which is lower than it should be,” said Kant. Supplies should rise to as much as 500 tons a day in July, he said. Cash prices in Thailand extended gains as the slower-than- usual increase in supply was insufficient to meet increasing demand, the Rubber Institute of Thailand said on its website. The free-on-board price of RSS-3 grade for July delivery gained 0.6 percent to 115.10 baht ($3.55) a kilogram today, the institute said. It reviews the price daily and issues new data in the afternoon. To contact the reporter on this story: Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok at ssuwannakij@bloomberg.net

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