Spot rubber continued to edge higher on Wednesday. RSS4 improved to ₹169.00 (168.00) and ₹168.50 (167.50) per kg respectively according to traders and the Rubber Board.
The commodity hit an intraday high of ₹170.00 a kg on dealer-to-dealer trades as most of them were expecting sheet rubber to touch ₹175.00 a kg in a week or two.
Some tyre companies procured the raw material even above the prevailing levels but the gains were limited since they maintained a comparatively low profile.
A moderate recovery in global markets and a steady rise in domestic demand kept the buyers visibly active in the local trading houses during the session.
In futures, the most active March contracts were up 1.04 percent from last day's settlement price to close at ₹169.59 per kg with a volume of 8 lots on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
RSS3 (spot) inched up to ₹170.49 (170.33) per kg at Bangkok. SMR20 improved to ₹140.27 (135.39) and Latex to ₹132.52 (132.30) per kg at Kualalumpur.
The natural rubber contract for the May 2022 delivery was up 520 Yuan from previous day's settlement price to close at 14.19 Yuan (Rs.172.07) per kg with a volume of 430,340 lots in daytime trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).
Spot rubber rates (Rs/kg) were: RSS4: 169.00 (168.00), RSS5: 167.00 (166.00), ISNR20: 161.00 (160.00) and Latex (60% drc): 122.50 (121.50).