By Rahul Dhuri
MUMBAI – The most-active April contract of rubber on the Indian Commodity Exchange hit a one-week high of 13,234 rupees per 100 kg, due to supply crunch in the domestic market and on expectations of a rise in demand from tyre manufacturers, trader said.
The most-active April contract on ICEX settled at 13,213 rupees per 100 kg, up 11 rupees from Tuesday.
Rubber supply has been hit because tapping in the key growing state of Kerala has stopped. The peak rubber tapping season is Oct-Dec. Supply has declined due to a fall in yield, following a flood in the state last year, traders said.
However, prices of natural rubber in key spot markets of Kerala were largely unchanged today, as expectations of a rise in rubber imports negated gains following improved demand from domestic stockists, said Joy Alencherry, the owner of Kottayam-based Maria Rubber Links.
Today, in Kottayam and Kochi, the RSS-4 variety was largely unchanged at 126-128 rupees per kg, traders said. Data from Rubber Board showed that both in Kochi and Kottayam, the RSS-4 variety was quoted at 127.00 rupees per kg, unchanged from the previous level.
On global front, rubber contracts on TOCOM traded almost flat as the fall due to a firm yen against dollar was cushioned by strength in crude oil prices on New York Mercantile Exchange, analysts said.
The most-active August contract of rubber on the Japanese bourse settled at 197.3 yen (123.13 rupees) per kg, up 0.1% from the previous close.
A strong Japanese currency makes the yen-denominated rubber costlier for overseas buyers. Also, rubber prices take cues from those of crude oil as the latter is used to manufacture synthetic rubber, a substitute for natural rubber.
In Thailand, RSS-3 grade rubber was up 56 cents at $178.80 per 100 kg. In Malaysia, the SMR-20 grade variety was up 84 cents at $148.20 per 100 kg, according to data from India’s Rubber Board.
The following table shows today’s closing prices of rubber, in rupees per kg, as detailed by the Rubber Board, and the change in prices, in rupees, compared with the previous close:
KOTTAYAM | KOCHI | |||
GRADE | PRICE | CHANGE | PRICE | CHANGE |
RSS-4 | 127.00 | Unch | 127.00 | Unch |
RSS-5 | 123.00 | 0.50 | 123.00 | 0.50 |
ISNR-20 | 122.00 | Unch | NA | NA |
Latex | 82.40 | Unch | NA | NA |
OUTLOOK
In the coming days, rubber contracts on ICEX are likely to rise on expectations of a pickup in demand from tyre manufacturers and on likely gains in rubber contracts on TOCOM, traders said. End
US$1 = 69.53 rupees
Edited by Arshad Hussain