KOBE RUBBER EXCHANGE TO EXTEND TRADING HOURS The Kobe Rubber Exchange said it will extend its trading hours from May 1 to enable more operators to use the exchange. Subject to Ministry of International Trade and Industry approval, the Exchange will add a sixth session starting at 1700 local time, and will close the account for trading at the new session the following day before the opening call starts at 0930 local time, an Exchange official said. Trading on the Singapore rubber market, a major producer price indicator for Japanese end-users, is usually active after the end of the current final session here. The introduction of the new session will enable participants to trade overnight after taking account of Singapore rubber prices, because brokers and members who are designated by the Kobe Exchange are allowed to add the volume traded overnight to the new final session before the opening session starts next day, the official said. But because the Kobe Exchange uses the auction system which sets a fixed price at each session, the price of contracts traded overnight should be a fixed price settled at the sixth session, he added. Industry sources said they expected the Ministry to approve the plan because it has encouraged the Japanese futures industry to expand and internationalise. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange for Industry, TOCOM, which also trades rubber futures in Japan, said it has no plans to introduce an extra session. TOCOM also has five rubber trading sessions a day. Four sessions start 15 minutes later than Kobe Exchange sessions, but both Exchanges' final sessions start at the same time.