By Rahul Dhuri
MUMBAI – Futures contracts of rubber on the Indian Commodity Exchange settled higher today tracking gains in benchmark contracts on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, traders said.
On ICEX, the most active December contract settled at 12,172 rupees per 100 kg, up 3.3% from close on Friday.
Futures contracts of rubber on TOCOM rose today due to a fall in the Japanese yen against the US dollar and tracking gains in benchmark contracts of rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, analysts said.
A weak Japanese currency makes yen-denominated rubber cheaper for overseas buyers.
The most-active April contract on the Japanese bourse ended 0.2% higher at 155.5 yen (97.28 rupees) per kg.
A fall in inventories of natural rubber at Shanghai warehouses also supported prices. As on Thursday, natural rubber stocks were at 486,900 tn compared with 489,060 tn on the previous day.
However, concern over global demand capped the upside.
In Thailand, the price of RSS-3 grade rubber was up 1 cent at $134.11 per 100 kg, while in Malaysia, the SMR-20 grade was up 90 cents at $122.65 per 100 kg, according to Rubber Board.
Meanwhile, rubber prices in the key spot markets of Kerala fell to subdued demand from domestic stockists and tyre manufacturers, said Joy Alencherry, owner of Maria Rubber Links in Kottayam.
Expectation of a rise in imports also weighed on prices in the domestic market, traders said.
The widely-traded RSS-4 variety of rubber in spot markets of Kerala was sold at 116-115 rupees per kg today, down by 1 rupees from Saturday, traders said.
However, according to data from the Rubber Board of India, the RSS-4 variety was largely unchanged at 118.00 rupees per kg in both Kochi and Kottayam.
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 previous close are given in the following table:
| KOTTAYAM | KOCHI | |||
| GRADE | PRICE | CHANGE | PRICE | CHANGE |
| RSS-4 | 118.00 | Unch | 118.00 | (-)0.50 |
| RSS-5 | 113.50 | 0.50 | 113.50 | 0.50 |
| ISNR-20 | 107.50 | (-)0.50 | NA | NA |
| Latex | 83.50 | Unch | NA | NA |
OUTLOOK
Prices of natural rubber in the key spot markets of Kerala are likely to extend losses in the coming days due to weak demand from domestic stockists and tyre manufacturers, traders said.
However, gains in global markets will likely cushion the fall in domestic prices, they said. End
US$1 = 70.87 rupees
Edited by Rashmi Sanyal
