Informist, Friday, Apr 1, 2022
By Rahul Dhuri
MUMBAI – The prices of natural rubber in the key markets of Kerala extended Thursday’s gains tracking firmness in the global market. Strong demand from domestic bulk buyers amid supply concerns in the market further supported rubber prices, traders said.
* The lean production season has started in Kerala and is likely to continue till May. India’s natural rubber production may fall, as heavy rain in October and November in Kerala, the country’s biggest producer of the commodity, affected the peak tapping season, said C.J. Augustine, owner of Chettiparambil Traders in Idukki.
* Sluggish production and import hurdles are driving up prices of natural rubber. Tapping of the commodity, too, slowed in March due to a rise in temperature, traders said.
* Imports have been hit because of high freight costs and logistics issues, and elevated prices of the commodity in the global market. A likely rise in industrial demand could also support rubber prices, said Santosh Kumar, executive director, Harrisons Malayalam Ltd, and a member of the rubber committee of The United Planters’ Association of Southern India.
* On the global front, rubber contracts on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended higher on expectations of a rise in global demand for the commodity. However, weakness in crude oil contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange capped the gains in rubber prices, analysts said.
* The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries said the demand for natural rubber from the healthcare sector is likely to rise. The association expects global consumption to rise 1.2% to 14.2 mln tn this year.
* Futures contracts of crude oil slumped marginally today after reports that the US plans to release 180 mln barrels of crude from its reserves over the next six months to tackle rising inflation and balance the market. Natural rubber prices take cues from crude oil as the latter is used to manufacture synthetic rubber.
Following are the highlights of today’s trade:
–Today, the widely-traded RSS-4 variety was at a three-month high of 178 rupees per kg, up 1 rupee, in Kerala. Prices have already risen over 5% on month in March.
–The most-active August contract of rubber on the Japanese bourse ended 0.5 yen up at 259.9 yen (161.35 rupees) per kg.
End
Edited by Michael Correya
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