Rubber witnesses steady trend

Kottayam: Physical rubber ruled almost firm since the futures markets displayed a firm close on July 4. RSS 4 closed flat at Rs 73 a kg both at Kottayam and Kochi after reaching an intra day low at Rs 72.50 a kg in the morning session. The rubber futures showed a better trend on NMCE. The July contract settled higher at Rs 74 (73.46), August at Rs 74.90 (74.32), September at Rs 75.10 (74.35) and October at Rs 75.05 (74.37) per kg for RSS 4. The transactions totalled 2,737 (2,582 ) tonnes. The open interest was 7,025 (6,926) lots with 2,420 (2,464) lots in July, 2,699 (2,641) lots in August, 1,102 (1,057) lots in September and 804 (764) lots in October. Spot prices were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 73 (73); RSS-5: 70.50 (70.50); ungraded: 68 (69); ISNR 20: 70.50 (70.50) and latex 60 per cent: 55.80 (55.80).