The Hindu Business Line : Spot rubber gains from speculation

Kottayam May 19 Spot rubber made smart gains in the weekend session. The rise was mostly speculative as certain players were benefiting the absence of international guidance and quantity sellers, sources said. Sheet rubber flared up to Rs 89.50 and Rs 90 from Rs 88.50 and Rs 89 a kg respectively at Kottayam and Kochi.

Futures improve

The rubber futures managed to finish in the positive territory on Saturday. The June contract firmed up to Rs 91.25 from Rs 90.87 a kg on MCX.

The June contract for RSS 4 moved up to Rs 91.67 (91.36), July to Rs 93.47 (92.93) and August contract to Rs 93.25 (93.13) per kg, while the far month September contract slipped marginally to Rs 90.60 from Rs 90.76 a kg on NMCE.

The open interest stood at 7,006 (6,897) lots with 4,018 (3,975) lots in June, 2,302 (2,240) lots in July, 618 (617) lots in August and 68 (65) lots in September. The volumes were 781 (1,898) tonnes.

Spot prices were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 89.50 (88.50); RSS-5: 88 (87.50); ungraded: 87.50 (86); ISNR 20: 88 (87) and latex 60 per cent: 64.20 (63.15).