Fresh buying boosts spot rubber prices

Fresh buying boosts spot rubber prices

KOTTAYAM, FEB. 1:
Spot rubber turned better on Tuesday. The market improved marginally on fresh buying and short covering following a smart recovery on the National Multi Commodity Exchange. According to observers, sellers stayed away expecting further gains in the days ahead and volumes were on a low key.

Speculators were expecting the market to move up further. But since the prices lost ground much earlier to their expectations, most of them were unwilling to take delivery in the February futures and hence the series remained under pressure from their selling.

This has spread to other counters and it created an impact in the physical market also. This is the reason why the prices have been dropped during the past few sessions, said Mr. George Waly, President, Indian Rubber Dealers Federation.

The difference between the international and Indian prices is around Rs 41 a kg as on Monday. The farmers are quite reluctant to dispense with their stocks with the result the movement to the market has almost paralysed, he added.

Sheet rubber firmed up to Rs 222.50 (221.50) a kg, according to dealers. The grade increased to Rs 223.50 (223) a kg as quoted by the Rubber Board.

FUTURES GAIN

RSS 4 bounced back with the February series rising to Rs 225 (217.69), March to Rs 229.15 (222.35), April to Rs 238.60 (231.44) and May to Rs 245.85 (239.25) a kg on the NMCE.

RSS 3 (spot) closed at Rs 262.64 (262.46) a kg at Bangkok. The February futures for the grade slipped further to ¥478.4 (Rs 268.43) from ¥478.7 a kg during the day session but then improved to ¥483.3 (Rs 271.17) in the night session on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 222.50 (221.50); RSS-5: 216 (215); ungraded: 210.50 (210); ISNR 20: 220 (219) and latex 60 per cent: 149 (149).



India rubber seen up on bargain-buying, supply woes

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Indian rubber prices are likely to edge higher this week after a five-percent decline in the past four sessions as bargain hunting driven by lower supplies and firmness in the world market are seen supporting, dealers said.
"The wide difference between local and international prices is prompting farmers to hold their produce. Supply in the spot markets is thin despite higher tapping," George Valy, president of The Indian Rubber Dealers Federation (IRDF), told Reuters.
On Monday, spot price of the most traded RSS-4 rubber (ribbed smoked sheet) fell by 300 rupees to 22,300 rupees per 100 kg in the Kottayam market in the southern state of Kerala. The price has fallen 5 percent in the past four sessions.
Spot rubber price in Thailand, the world's biggest producer and exporter of natural rubber , rose by 104 rupees to 26,246 rupees per 100 kg.
The benchmark February contract NMRUG1 on India's National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE), meanwhile, provisionally closed 2.3 percent lower at 21,799 rupees per 100 kg.
The country's natural rubber output in December edged up by 0.6 percent to 101,500 tonnes as favourable weather allowed farmers to increase tapping, the state-run Rubber Board said in a statement. [ID:nSGE70205T]
Tight supply of natural rubber in the world market "is likely to be aggravated further" in February-May 2011, as it is seasonally the lean period for tapping, the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) said. [ID:nSGE6BN074]
Key Tokyo rubber futures retreated from their early highs and ended lower on Monday as oil prices lost steam after rising on concerns that tensions in Egypt might spread across the Middle East, while a stronger yen also capped the market's gains.