Rubber may extend a recovery from a two-year low to the highest level since September, according to technical analysis by research company JSC Corp. The 25-day moving average for the most-active contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange climbed above its 50-day moving average this month for the first time since August, signaling that the medium-term downtrend is over, said Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at the Tokyo-based company. The contract also climbed above the cloud on the Ichimoku chart, indicating its trend turned upward, he said. The chart analyzes midpoints of historic highs and lows, or so-called resistance and support levels, with a breakout from above or below the cloud pointing to a trend. “It looks like the contract is set to rebound toward 342.5 yen, its settlement price on Sept. 22, when the downward trend began based on its candle-chart signals,� Shigemoto said. Rubber futures slumped to 248.6 yen a kilogram ($3,239 a metric ton) on Nov. 11, the lowest level since December 2009. It advanced to a record 535.7 yen on Feb. 18, 2011. The price has gained 19 percent this year amid optimism about the U.S. economic recovery and as Thailand announced a price-support plan. The rally was also fueled by speculation that China may ease monetary policy to support economic expansion. The government of Thailand, the world’s biggest producer and exporter of natural rubber, approved a plan on Jan. 24 to buy 200,000 tons from growers at above-market rates to support local prices after a 29 percent slump last year. In technical analysis, investors and analysts study charts of trading patterns and prices to predict changes in a security, commodity, currency or index. To contact the reporter on this story: Aya Takada in Tokyo at atakada2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net

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