Spot rubber closed lower on Tuesday. "Supplies to the local trading houses have increased as tapping is in full swing," said a dealer.
"We are almost at the last phase of the peak production season which normally ends at January and prices are expected to recover after that when the arrivals begin to fall," dealer added.
As coronavirus cases are increasing globally, speculative investors are compelled to stay away from riskier assets including commodities and stocks, according to Jom Jacob, Analyst in Global Rubber Market and Former Senior Economist at Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC).
RSS 4 declined to Rs 150 (151) per kg, according to traders and the Rubber Board. The grade dropped to Rs 146 (147) per kg, as per dealers.
In futures, the front month January delivery improved by 0.12 per cent to Rs 152.86 (152.67) per kg on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
RSS 3 (spot) weakened to Rs 158.95 (160.29) per kg at Bangkok. SMR 20 surrendered to Rs 113.56 (114.62) and Latex to Rs 102.39 (102.99) per kg at Kualalumpur.
The natural rubber contract for January delivery was down by 425 Yuan (Rs 4,818.25) to close at 139,35 Yuan (Rs 1,57,993.29) a tonne on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).
Spot rubber rates (Rs/kg) were: RSS4:150.00 (151.00); RSS5: 140.00(141.00); ISNR20: 124.00 (125.00) and Latex (60% drc): 108.00 (108.00).