The Hindu Business Line : Weak trend in spot rubber

Spot rubber showed signs of weakness on Thursday. The trend was mixed but the weakness in Japanese indices seemed to cast its shadow over the market though there was no notable selling pressure from growers or traders on sheet rubber.

Sheet rubber closed static at Rs 98.00 and Rs 98.50 a kg respectively at Kottayam and Kochi. The absence of buyers from the non-tyre sector induced an all-round weakness, which began with a fall in ungraded rubber, sources said.

Futures improve

The futures improved sharply, recovering the initial loses in the domestic commodity exchanges. On NMCE, the January contract firmed up to Rs 101.25 (Rs 99.51), February to Rs 103.55 (Rs 102.08), March to Rs 106.50 (Rs 104.52) and April to Rs 109.41 (Rs 108.13) per kg for RSS 4. The January delivery contract for the grade improved to Rs 102.91 from Rs 100.42 a kg (842tonnes) on MCX. February futures for RSS 3 declined to 238.8 Yen (Rs.88.78) from 242.9 Yen a kg at TOCOM. The grade was steady at Rs 89.28 a kg at Bangkok.

Spot prices were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: Rs 98 (Rs 98); RSS-5: Rs 93.50 (Rs 93.50); ungraded: Rs 91 (Rs 92); ISNR 20: Rs 93 (Rs 93.50) and latex 60 per cent: Rs 66.30 (Rs 67.35).