By Rahul Dhuri
MUMBAI – Futures contracts of rubber on the Indian Commodity Exchange settled higher today, tracking gains in key spot markets of Kerala, traders said. On ICEX, the most active March contract ended at 12,730 rupees per 100 kg, up 0.2% from Wednesday.
Prices of natural rubber rose in the spot markets of Kerala due to improved demand from domestic stockists amid the ongoing supply crunch in the market, traders said.
As the market is entering a lean season, a decline in arrivals is expected. Moreover, rubber imports tend to fall with prices increasing internationally, said Raju Varghese, a rubber trader based in Kottayam.
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In Kottayam and Kochi, both in Kerala, the RSS-4 variety was sold in the range of 124-126 rupees per kg, up 1 rupee from Wednesday, traders said. Data from India’s Rubber Board showed that the RSS-4 variety in Kochi and Kottayam was sold at 125.0 rupees a kg, up 0.50 rupee from the previous close in both markets.
Rubber futures on Tokyo Commodity Exchange traded lower today as the yen strengthened against the dollar, and tracking a fall in crude oil prices on New York Mercantile Exchange, analysts said.
A firm Japanese currency makes the yen-denominated rubber costlier for overseas buyers. Prices of rubber take cues from crude oil as the latter is used to manufacture synthetic rubber, a substitute for natural rubber.
The most-active July contract on the Japanese bourse ended 1.1% lower at 192.9 yen (124.04 rupees) per kg.
The decline in prices was also due to profit booking after the July contract hit a nine-month high of 195.3 yen per kg on Wednesday.
Today’s closing prices of rubber, in rupees per kg in Kochi and Kottayam, 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 | 125.00 | 0.50 | 125.00 | 0.50 |
| RSS-5 | 119.00 | 0.50 | 119.00 | 0.50 |
| ISNR-20 | 117.50 | 0.50 | NA | NA |
| Latex | 82.95 | 0.55 | NA | NA |
OUTLOOK
In the coming days, prices of natural rubber in the key spot markets of Kerala are likely to rise due to improved demand from domestic stockists and due to the ongoing supply crunch, traders said. End
US$1 = 71.25 rupees
Edited by Avishek Dutta
