Japanese rubber futures rose to a six-week high on Thursday as strong U.S. inflation data was not worrying enough to change the Federal Reserve"s already hawkish rates outlook, though gains were limited by weak Chinese economic data. Osaka Exchange"s rubber contract for June delivery , finished up 1.1 yen, or 0.5%, at 244.4 yen ($2.1) per kg, after touching the highest level since Dec. 2 of 247.4 yen earlier in the session. U.S. consumer price inflation was at its highest in nearly 40 years, data showed overnight, but it didn"t come as a surprise and kept intact expectations for the Fed"s tapering or timeline for the first rate rise as early as March. read more New bank lending in China fell more than expected in December from the previous month, but lending for the full year of 2021 set a record as the central bank slowly ramps up policy support to cushion the slowing economy. read more The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery fell 100 yuan to finish at 14,925 yuan ($2,346) per tonne. It rose to as high as 15,240 yuan earlier in the session, the highest since Dec. 2. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange"s SICOM platform for February delivery last traded at 177.7 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.2%. TOKYO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - ($1 = 114.5800 yen) ($1 = 6.3611 Chinese yuan renminbi)