Spot rubber finished flat on Friday. According to observers, sustained weakness in overseas markets failed to make any visible impact in domestic rubber prices probably since imports are still costlier when compared with local purchases.
Growers also seemed to be confident to hold on to their stocks as the minimum support price for rubber will be ₹170/kg with effect from April 1.
RSS 4 was quoted steady at ₹169 a kg by traders and the Rubber Board. The grade closed unchanged at ₹164 as per dealers. The transactions were low.
In futures, the April delivery was down 0.17% from Thursday's settlement price to close at ₹169.37 per kg on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
RSS 3 (spot) declined to ₹162.75 (164.32) per kg at Bangkok. SMR 20 weakened to ₹122.97 (125.72) and Latex to ₹120.74 (121.08) per kg at Kuala Lumpur.
The most active natural rubber contract for May delivery was down 110 Yuan (₹942.46) from previous day's settlement price to close at 14,125 Yuan (₹156,605.45) a tonne in day time trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).
Spot rubber rates (₹/kg): RSS 4:169 (169); RSS 5: 166 (166); ISNR20: 155.50 (155.50) and Latex (60% drc): 128 (128).