By Rahul Dhuri
MUMBAI – The most-active March contract of rubber on the Indian Commodity Exchange today hit a nine-week high of 12,845 rupees per 100 kg, tracking benchmark contracts on Tokyo Commodity Exchange, traders said. On ICEX, the contract settled at 12,734 rupees per 100 kg, up 1.9% from Monday.
The July contract of rubber on TOCOM extended Monday’s gains to hit a four-week high of 192.9 yen (124.41 rupees) per kg today due to hope that the US and China would agree upon a trade deal, analysts said.
Such a deal will improve the outlook for global economic growth and lead to a pick-up in demand from China, the top consumer of rubber.
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The most active July contract on the Japanese bourse was at 193.5 yen per kg, up 6.5 yen from the previous close.
A fall in stocks of rubber at Shanghai Futures Exchange also supported contracts on TOCOM. According to data by the bourse, as of Feb 15, stocks of rubber at exchange-accredited warehouses were at 437,021 tn, down 96 tn from a week ago.
Expectations that demand from China would rise after holidays on account of the Spring festival are also leading to bullish sentiment in the market.
Prices of natural rubber in the key spot markets of Kerala rose, tracking gains in global markets and due to improved demand from domestic stockists after a sharp fall in prices recently, said Thaha Mohamed, owner of the Kottayam-based Sara Traders.
However, expectations of a rise in rubber imports are likely to prevent sharp gains in prices.
In Kottayam and Kochi, the RSS-4 variety of rubber was sold in the range of 124-125 rupees per kg, up 1 rupee from Monday, traders said.
Data from India’s Rubber Board showed that the RSS-4 variety in Kochi was sold at 124.0 rupees a kg, up 1.00 rupee from the previous close. In Kottayam, it was sold at 124.0 rupees per kg, up 0.50 rupee.
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 | 124.00 | 0.50 | 124.00 | 1.00 |
| RSS-5 | 118.00 | 1.00 | 118.00 | 1.00 |
| ISNR-20 | 115.50 | 0.50 | NA | NA |
| Latex | 82.40 | Unch | NA | NA |
OUTLOOK
Futures contract of rubber on Indian Commodity Exchange are likely to see a bullish trend for the next one week, tracking gains in benchmark contracts on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, analysts said. End
US$1 = 71.34 rupees
Edited by Avishek Dutta
