The Hindu Business Line : Spot rubber slips on global trend

Declining overseas markets, especially TOCOM, hammered the rubber prices on Thursday. Sheet rubber dipped to Rs 92.50 against Rs 93 a kg at Kottayam. But the grade was quoted better by 50 paise to Rs 93 a kg at Kochi possibly on covering purchases for immediate delivery. According to sources the losses were restricted in the domestic scene only due to supply concerns.

Futures weak

The rubber futures ruled weak on NMCE. The near month September contract was quoted at Rs 90.50 (Rs 90.69), October contract at Rs 87.79 (Rs 87.87), November contract at Rs 87.73 (Rs 87.95) and December contract at Rs 87.75 (Rs 88.16) per kg for RSS 4.

The trading volumes stood at 649 tonnes with 545 tonnes in September, 53 tonnes in October, 11 tonnes in November and 40 tonnes in December till midday.

The September futures for RSS 3 moved down to 244.6 Yen (Rs 98.53) from 249.8 Yen a kgon at TOCOM. The grade closed at Rs 101.43 against Rs 102.11 a kg at Bangkok Spot.

Spot rubber prices per kg were: RSS-4: Rs 92.50 (Rs 93); RSS-5: Rs 90 (Rs 91); ungraded: Rs 86.50 (Rs 87.50); ISNR 20: Rs 90 (Rs 90.50) and latex 60 per cent: Rs 73.14 (Rs 73.67).