MUMBAI – Rubber contracts on the Indian Commodity Exchange ended in the red today due to weak demand from domestic stockists and tyre makers, traders said.
The most active May contract of rubber on ICEX ended at 11,444 rupees per 100 kg, down 1.9%. Demand outlook for the commodity remains weak amid the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts said.
The overall sentiment remains bearish as trade in the key markets of Kerala has been hit by the nationwide lockdown, which was extended till May 3, due to a spike in coronavirus cases.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India have crossed over 27,800 and the death toll has risen to 872.
A fall in the benchmark rubber contracts on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange also weighed on ICEX contracts, said John Joseph, a rubber trader based in Kerala.
On TOCOM, rubber contracts ended down due to a slump in contracts of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange, said analysts.
Prices of natural rubber take cues from those of crude oil as the latter is used to make synthetic rubber. Crude oil contracts on NYMEX slumped over 6% today due to worries that stockpiles of the fuel in the US are nearing a record high.
The September contract of natural rubber on the Japanese bourse ended down 0.6% at 149.1 yen, (about 105.9 rupees) per kg.
The price of the RSS-3 variety in Thailand fell by 11 cents to $138.30 per 100 kg, data from Rubber Board showed. In Malaysia, the price of the SMR-20 variety was at $110.80 per 100 kg, down 40 cents.
The overall fundamentals in the global and domestic rubber market remain bearish due to continued demand destruction following prolonged shutdowns across major economies.
Source Cogencis