Futures contracts of rubber settled a touch higher on the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) due to bargain buying by market participants following a recent fall in prices and expectations of a rise in demand from domestic tyre makers- the most-active April contract on ICEX settled at 13,193 rupees per 100 kg, up 0.1% from March 14, 2019.
But Raju Varghese, a Kottayam-based rubber trader, has said a fall in benchmark contracts on Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) capped sharp gains in the contracts on ICEX; futures contracts on TOCOM fell against the benchmark contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), where increase in stocks weighed on prices.
The most-active August contract on TOCOM settled at 193 yen (119.38 rupees) per kg. The yen’s strength against the dollar has also contributed to the downside as the yen-denominated rubber is costlier for overseas buyers.
Data from India’s Rubber Board has listed a drop of US$2.48 at US$176.50 per 100 kg of RSS-3 grade rubber in Thailand. In Malaysia, the SMR-20 grade variety was down US$2.25 at US$147.0 per 100 kg.
In India, prices of natural rubber in the markets of Kerala were largely unchanged today, as expectations of a rise in imports negated gains following improved demand from domestic stockists – the RSS-4 variety was quoted in the range of 127-128 rupees per kg.
The Indian rubber market expects positive move on expectations of a pickup in demand from domestic tyre manufacturers and a supply crunch in the market.