Spot rubber continued to remain under pressure despite a firm closing in global trendsetters on Tuesday. The market lost further on buyer resistance coupled with an almost panic selling from certain growers and traders.

The commodity hit an intraday high of ₹162.00 a kg on covering purchases at lower levels.

RSS4 closed weak at ₹161.00 (162.00) per kg according to traders. The grade declined to ₹162.00 (163.00) per kg as reported by the Rubber Board. A leading tyre maker was buyer on sheet rubber at ₹161.00 a kg during the session.

"The new restrictions imposed against the spread of the Omicron strain of Covid-19 and the resultant concerns over the demand outlook can have a negative bearing on NR market. The concerns over the potential spread of the new strain can compel traders to remain cautious", analysts said.

In futures, the most active January contracts were up 1.11 percent from Monday's settlement price to close at ₹162.17 per kg with a volume of 22 lots on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

RSS3 (spot) improved to ₹141.55 (140.46) per kg at Bangkok. SMR20 firmed up to ₹130.54 (127.64) and Latex to ₹93.93 (93.13) per kg at Kualalumpur.

The natural rubber contract for the January 2022 delivery was up 2.35 percent from previous day's settlement price to close at 14.49 Yuan (₹169.93) per kg with a volume of 7,801 lots in daytime trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).

Spot rubber rates (Rs/kg) were: RSS4:161.00 (162.00), RSS5: 158.00(159.00), ISNR20: 149.00 (152.00) and Latex (60% drc): 125.75 (126..50).