Spot rubber was in a mixed mood with an upward bias on Wednesday. RSS-4 closed unchanged at ₹173 a kg, according to traders. The grade firmed up to ₹172.50 (172) and ₹167.50 (167) a kg, respectively, as per the Rubber Board and dealers.

The market indicator hit an intra-day high of ₹174 a kg as certain tyre companies were buyers on the same during the latter half of the session, said traders.

The Kerala Government’s decision to ease Covid-19 restrictions has added much cheer to the rubber community as a whole. Now there will be no lockdowns on Saturday allowing shops and other establishments to remain open till 9 pm for six days in a week. “We expect an improvement in arrivals for a couple of days following this change in the pandemic management strategy,” a dealer told BusinessLine.

The most active August delivery was up 0.59 per cent from Tuesday’s settlement price to close at ₹175.95 per kg with a volume of 27 lots on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).

RSS-3 (spot) inched up to ₹135.90 (135.67) per kg at Bangkok. SMR 20 weakened to ₹126.79 (126.97), while latex improved to ₹91.16 (90.44) per kg at Kuala Lumpur.

The natural rubber contract for the September delivery was up 0.44 per cent from previous day’s settlement price to close at 13,505 Yuan (₹154,003.03) a tonne with a volume of 226,064 lots in day time trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).

The forward January 2022 delivery improved 0.09 per cent from last day’s settlement price and closed at ¥217.9 (₹148.19) per kg with a volume of 222 lots on the Osaka Exchange, Japan.

Spot rubber rates (₹/kg): RSS-4:173 (173); RSS-5: 170.50 (170); ISNR20: 160 (158.50) and Latex (60% drc): 129 (128).

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