By Rahul Dhuri
MUMBAI – Futures contracts of rubber rose on Indian Commodity Exchange due to bargain buying after prices hit a three-month low of 11,751 rupees per 100 kg on Wednesday, analysts said.
On ICEX, the most active December contract settled at 11,785 rupees per 100 kg, up by 14 rupees from Wednesday.
Gains in benchmark contracts on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange also supported contracts on the domestic bourse, said Kurian Abraham, a rubber trader based in Kochi.
Futures contracts of rubber on the TOCOM rose on bargain buying after they hit an over two-year low of 151.0 yen (94.45 rupees) per kg on Wednesday, analysts said.
The most-active April contract on the Japanese bourse ended 0.2% higher at 155 yen per kg.
In Thailand, the price of RSS-3 grade rubber was down by 15 cents at $133.96 per 100 kg, while in Malaysia, the SMR-20 grade was up by $1.69 at $121.94 per 100 kg, according to the Rubber Board.
However, a fall in prices of natural rubber in key spot markets of Kerala capped gains in contracts on the domestic bourse, said a rubber trader based in Kottayam.
Rubber prices in spot markets of Kerala fell further today as tyre companies showed little interest in buying from the domestic market, traders said.
Tyre companies seem to have built up an adequate stock, an official with a Kochi-based rubber trading company said, adding that an improving supply in the domestic and international markets is also hurting the market sentiment.
The widely-traded RSS-4 variety of rubber in spot markets of Kerala was sold at 116-117 rupees per kg today, down by 2 rupees from Wednesday, traders said. However, according to data from the Rubber Board of India, the RSS-4 variety was sold at 118.50 rupees per kg in both Kochi and Kottayam, down 0.50 rupee from the previous close.
Today’s closing prices of rubber, in rupees per kg, at Kottayam and Kochi, as detailed by the Rubber Board, and the change in prices, in rupees, compared with the previous close are given in the following table:
| KOTTAYAM | KOCHI | |||
| GRADE | PRICE | CHANGE | PRICE | CHANGE |
| RSS-4 | 118.50 | (-) 0.50 | 118.50 | (-)0.50 |
| RSS-5 | 113.50 | (-) 0.50 | 113.50 | (-) 0.50 |
| ISNR-20 | 108.00 | (-)0.50 | NA | NA |
| Latex | 83.50 | Unch | NA | NA |
OUTLOOK
In the coming days, prices of natural rubber in key markets of Kerala are likely to remain under pressure due to persistent weak demand from tyre manufacturers and domestic stockists, traders said.
Prices of natural rubber in spot markets of Kerala are likely to fall further by 2-3 rupees per kg, from it current level, they said. End
US$1 = 70.67 rupees
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
