Mixed trend in rubber

Spot rubber finished flat on Thursday. The market managed to sustain at the prevailing levels despite a weak closing in domestic futures and overseas trendsetters as most growers were unwilling to sell their produce in panic, a trader said.

The commodity is stabilising above the minimum support price (MSP) and we expect it to regain strength once the global indices recover from the ongoing corrective phase, he added.

RSS 4 closed unchanged at ₹171 a kg as per traders and the Rubber Board. The grade was quoted steady at ₹166 by dealers. The trend was partially mixed as ISNR 20 lost marginally on buyer resistance.

In futures, the April delivery was down 1.97 per cent from Wednesday’s settlement price to close at ₹ 168.35 per kg with a volume of 61 lots on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

The global economy will expand 6% this year, up from the 5.5 per cent estimated in January, according to the International Monitory Fund (IMF). Many advanced economies will not return to their pre-pandemic output levels until 2022. The world economy in 2024 will be about 3 per cent smaller than anticipated before Covid-19 outbreak.

The most active natural rubber contract for September delivery was down 375 Yuan (₹4273.02) from previous day’s settlement price to close at 139,70 Yuan (₹159,184.49) a tonne in day time trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).

RSS 3 (spot) slid to ₹164.33 (164.35) per kg at Bangkok. SMR 20 improved to ₹125.37 (124.75) while Latex declined to ₹117.40 (118.19) per kg at Kuala Lumpur.

Spot rubber rates (₹/kg): RSS 4:171 (171); RSS 5: 168.50 (168.50); ISNR20: 155 (155.50) and Latex (60% drc): 129 (129).