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Spot rubber resumed the downtrend on Tuesday. The market opened steady but closed in red on buyer resistance coupled with profit booking at higher levels.
According to sources, certain dealers were unwinding their stocks fearing further fall in prices. “We expect the commodity to hit ₹175 a kg soon”, they said.
The recent spurt in natural rubber prices was capped mainly by the cut in automobile production due to the severe shortage of chip semiconductors that is wreaking havoc in the global auto industry, said the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC). Besides being impacted by the supply constraints, inventory at the dealerships is also squeezed by the fast spreading virus variants. In India, passenger car sales in August dropped 15.3 per cent in August compared to July 2021, largely on chip shortage.
RSS-4 weakened to ₹178 from ₹178.50 and ₹179 per kg, according to traders and the Rubber Board. The grade dropped to ₹173.50 (174) a kg, as per dealers.
In futures, the most active September delivery was down 1.61 per cent from Monday’s settlement price to close at ₹175.28 per kg with a volume of 42 lots on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
The natural rubber contract for the September delivery was up 0.04 per cent from previous day’s settlement price to close at 12.92 Yuan (₹146.16) a kg, with a volume of 1,155 lots in day time trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).
RSS-3 (spot) declined to ₹133.80 (135.56) per kg at Bangkok. SMR20 slid to ₹120.07 (120.59), while latex improved to ₹90.05 (89.48) per kg at Kuala Lumpur.
The front month September delivery was down 0.52 per cent from last day’s settlement price to close at ¥192.50 (₹128.11) per kg with a volume of 36 lots on the Osaka Exchange, Japan.
Spot rubber rates (₹/kg) were: RSS-4:178 (178.50); RSS-5: 176 (177); ISNR20: 167.50 (168.50) and Latex (60% drc): 128.50 (128.50).
Fertiliser recommendations
Growers may contact Rubber Board Call Centre to seek information about the scientific fertiliser recommendations in rubber, including online fertiliser recommendation (RubSIS). Annie Philip, Senior Scientist, Rubber Research Institute of India, will answer the queries in this regard on September 8 from 10 am to 1 pm. The call centre number is 0481-2576622.
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