Spot rubber improves on covering buys

Spot rubber improves on covering buys

Kottayam, March 3

Spot rubber improved on Wednesday. According to sources, there were no quantity sellers in the market and hence the prices firmed up mainly on covering purchases. Sheet rubber improved further to Rs 143 from Rs 142.75 a kg amidst scattered transactions. There were no fresh enquiries from the tyre sector and the volumes continued to be low.

Futures better

The rubber futures showed a better trend on National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE). The March contract firmed up marginally to Rs 143.98 (143.21), April to Rs 148.35 (147.83), May to Rs 151.11 (150.69) and June to Rs 153.64 (152.84) a kg for RSS 4. The March futures for RSS 3 weakened to ¥278.9 (¥280) (Rs 143.99), April to ¥282 (¥282.5), May to ¥284.4 (¥284.7) and June to ¥286.3 (¥287.1), July to ¥287.9 (¥288.6) a kg during the day session on Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM). RSS 3 slipped further to Rs 149.14 (149.75) a kg on Singapore Commodity Exchange (SICOM). The grade (spot) moved down Rs 150.26 (151.04) a kg at Bangkok.

Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 143 (142.75); RSS-5: 140 (139); ungraded: 138.50 (138); ISNR 20: 138 (137) and latex 60 per cent: 91 (91).



Short-selling pulls down rubber prices

Kottayam, March 3 Following sudden changes in the international rubber market, investors concentrated on short selling putting to an end the technical correction that commenced at the end of January.

Upsetting the calculations of the futures traders, the short-selling on Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) during the middle of February caught everyone by surprise.

The TOCOM rubber market slipped to ¥265.6 on February 9 as a result of the correction but easily overcame technical resistance to touch ¥302 yen before closing at ¥296.8. TOCOM shot up to ¥306 before being subjected to technical correction. The next market resistance is likely to be at ¥305. The highest rate recorded in TOCOM was ¥356.9 in June 2008.

In Thailand, one of the major rubber producing countries, off-season has only just begun. Till now the daily arrival from the major marketing centres has been less than 100 tonnes.

Weather

It is reported that the weather changes have severe repercussions in production. Usually, winter begins in the northern provinces in Thailand. This year, it affected the southern provinces – the major rubber producing zone. Of the total rubber plantations, 70 per cent are in this zone.

Natural rubber prices hit peak on low supply
Kochi: Natural rubber (NR) market is currently in a buoyant mood, as prices across the globe are ruling at an all-time high. Taking cues from the global market, the price of RSS-4 grade in the local market also touched an all-time high of Rs 143 a kg on Monday. (BS) http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/natural-rubber-prices-hit-peaklow-supply/387307/