By Rahul Dhuri
MUMBAI – Futures contracts of rubber settled a tad higher today on the Indian Commodity Exchange due to bargain buying by market participants after a recent fall in prices and on expectations of a rise in demand from domestic tyre makers, traders said. On ICEX, the most-active April contract settled at 13,193 rupees per 100 kg, up 0.1% from Thursday’s close.
However, a fall in benchmark contracts on Tokyo Commodity Exchange capped sharp gains in the contracts on ICEX, said Raju Varghese, a Kottayam-based rubber trader.
Futures contracts of rubber on TOCOM fell today tracking weakness in the benchmark contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, where increase in stocks weighed on prices, analysts said. As of Thursday, stocks of rubber at Shanghai warehouses were at 425,360 tn, compared with 424,990 tn on Wednesday.
The most-active August contract on TOCOM settled at 193 yen (119.38 rupees) per kg, down 1.6 yen from the previous close.
The yen’s strength against the dollar also contributed to the downside as a firm Japanese currency makes the yen-denominated rubber costlier for overseas buyers.
In Thailand, RSS-3 grade rubber was down $2.48 at $176.50 per 100 kg. In Malaysia, the SMR-20 grade variety was down $2.25 at $147.0 per 100 kg, according to data from India’s Rubber Board.
Back home, prices of natural rubber in the key spot markets of Kerala were largely unchanged today, as expectations of a rise in imports negated gains following improved demand from domestic stockists, traders said.
Today, in Kottayam and Kochi, the RSS-4 variety was quoted in the range of 127-128 rupees per kg, unchanged from Thursday, traders said. However, data from Rubber Board showed that both in Kochi and Kottayam, the RSS-4 variety was quoted at 128.00 rupee per kg, up 0.50 rupees from the previous close.
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 | 128.00 | 0.50 | 128.00 | 0.50 |
| RSS-5 | 124.50 | 0.50 | 124.50 | 0.50 |
| ISNR-20 | 123.00 | Unch | NA | NA |
| Latex | 82.40 | Unch | NA | NA |
OUTLOOK
In the coming days, rubber market expects positive move on expectations of a pickup in demand from domestic tyre manufacturers and following supply crunch in the market, traders said. End
US$1 = 69.09 rupees
Edited by Maheswaran Parameswaran
