The price of rubber climbed for a second day, nearing an eight-month high reached on Monday. The increase came as speculation grew that China, the world's biggest consumer of the material, will purchase more rubber before the holidays next month.

Rubber for delivery in June gained 0.8 percent to end at 308 yen a kilogram ($3,521 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. The contract reached 313.7 yen on Monday.

China increased its imports of natural rubber by 15 percent to 3.28 million tons last year, according to Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.

China Daily - Agencies