KOTTAYAM, MARCH 12:
Spot rubber prices weakened on Tuesday. The local market remained under pressure during late trading hours mainly following the sharp declines in TOCOM futures. According to observers, the prices slipped on buyer resistance though sellers were limited on supply concerns. The trend continued to be mixed amidst low volumes.
The TOCOM rubber futures retreated after reaching the highest in more than two weeks a day before in its fifth straight session. This was followed by an increase in rubber inventories at Japanese ports.
Sheet rubber dropped to Rs 162.50 (163) a kg according to traders. The grade closed steady at Rs 162.50 a kg at Kottayam and Kochi according to Rubber Board.
In futures, the March series slipped to Rs 160 (160.84), April to Rs 163.42 (164.51), May to Rs 167 (168.42), June to Rs 170.20 (171.04) and July to Rs 171.20 (172.65), while the August series improved to Rs 177 (174.51) a kg on the National Multi Commodity Exchange.
RSS 3 (spot) weakened to Rs 165.23 (166.88) a kg at Bangkok. The March futures declined to ¥277 (Rs 157.05) from ¥283.8 a kg during the day session and then to ¥270 (Rs 153.08) a kg in the night session on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.
Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 162.50 (163); RSS-5: 159.50 (160); ungraded: 156 (157); ISNR 20: 159 (159) and latex 60 per cent: 105 (105).
Source: Business Line
