MARKET COMMENTARY
Natural rubber remains in the strangle hold of bears in the local as well as in the overseas market. On Tuesday, RSS4 in the Indian market stretched losses and remained in the vicinity of four and a half year low as poor off-take by the tyre sector coupled with higher imports and downtrend in the major international natural rubber market pressurized prices to move south despite supply disruptions owing to heavy rainfall in the major rubber growing areas in Kerala. NMCE rubber futures extended the previous week’s losses, to end more than two per cent lower. In the meantime, on Wednesday, TOCOM rubber futures tanked. The benchmark January rubber futures lost more than two per cent on slowing economic growth in Japan. Speculation that Thailand may sell stockpiles amidst worries over demand from China weighed on. Also, investors were probably cautious ahead of industrial production data from China scheduled to release later today.
MARKET NEWS
⊳ Rubber Board Chairman Ms. Sheela Thomas has been appointed as the Secretary General of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC).
⊳ China’s natural rubber imports in July stood at 280000 tonnes.
⊳ Thailand plans to reduce plantation area by 100,000 rai (16,000 hectares) a year for 7 years, according to the Office of the Rubber Replanting Aid Fund.
⊳ Global natural rubber output from key growers shrinks to 5.83m mt in first seven months from yr-ago period according to Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.
⊳ Natural rubber imports by India in July rose 14.8 per cent to 36997 tonnes on YoY basis, according to the Rubber Board.
⊳ Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives to ask the Natural Rubber Policy Committee this Friday for 30 billion baht budget to increase the utilisation of natural rubber from 10 percent to 30 percent of four million tonnes of annual yield.
⊳ Thailand’s military government to encourage farmers in the world’s biggest rubber producer and exporter to cut down more rubber trees in a bid to restrict supply to help shore up prices.
⊳ The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries’ 7th Annual Rubber Conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 13th October 2014.
TECHNICAL VIEW
RUBBER Sep NMCE
Even as trend stays bearish, now sustained trades below the considerably good support of 12800 is mandatory for further sell-off. Else, mild pullbacks may be witnessed, though 13280 may act as a stiff resistance to such up-moves.
TURNAROUND
| Resistances | LEVELS | Supports |
| 13150/13280 | 13500-13280-12800 | 12950/12800 |
| 13350/13480 | 12650/12500 | |
| 13650/13760 | 12400-12200 |
Source: Geojit Comtrade
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