Spot rubber ended in red on Friday. The market slipped in to the negative zone as the gap between the domestic and global rubber prices widened putting further pressure on sentiments.

RSS4 weakened to ₹169.50 (170.00) a kg as per traders and the Rubber Board. The grade was quoted lower at ₹164.50 (165.00) a kg by Dealers. Meanwhile, a leading tyre company bought sheet rubber at the quoted level, sources said.

India is likely to witness a marked increase in the production of NR during June compared to the previous two months, as farmers in the traditional rubber-growing region have widely rain-guarded their trees for uninterrupted harvesting during the south-west monsoon, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC).

The relatively better prices prevailed during this year, promotional campaign conducted by the Rubber Board, and the easy access to the financial credit extended by cooperatives and the companies jointly owned by Rubber Producers Societies (RPS) and Rubber Board, have reportedly enthused a large number of farmers to rain-guard the trees ahead of the onset of the south-west monsoon. However, the resurgence of the pandemic has reportedly disrupted the harvesting and production to a limited extent.

The June delivery was down 0.71 per cent from Thursday's settlement price to close at ₹167.50 per kg with a volume of 24 lots on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

RSS 3 (spot) weakened to ₹154.46 (155.55) per kg at Bangkok. SMR 20 improved to ₹119.55 (119.01) while Latex declined to ₹99.55 (100.89) per kg at Kualalumpur.

The natural rubber contract for the September delivery was up 20 Yuan (₹229.64) from previous day's settlement price to close at 12,795 Yuan (₹146,934.03) a tonne with a volume of 492,950 lots in day time trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).

The most active November futures for RSS3 lost 0.26 per cent to close at 233.9 Yen (₹156.96) per kg with a volume of 84 lots on the Osaka Exchange, Japan.

Spot rubber rates (₹/kg) were: RSS4:169.50 (170.00); RSS5: 167.50 (168.00); ISNR20: 157.00 (157.00) and Latex (60 per cent drc): 121.50 (122.50).

Meanwhile, growers may contact Rubber Board Call Centre to seek information about the scientific fertiliser recommendations in rubber, including RubSIS (Rubber Soil Information System). Dr. P. Prasannakumari, Senior Scientist, Rubber Research Institute of India will answer the queries in this regard on 21 June 2021, from 10 am to 1 pm. The Call Centre number is 0481-2576622.

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