Rubber Prices Fall

Kottayam: Though the strike by the lorry owners was withdrawn around noon, the physical rubber prices failed to react quickly to the trend reversing news and closed weak on Oct 24. Sheet rubber fell to Rs 97.50 and Rs 98 a kg from Rs 99 and Rs 98.50 a kg respectively at Kottayam and Kochi. The prices fell amidst thin volumes. The November contract for RSS 4 improved to Rs 99.20 (98.26), December to Rs 99.95 (98.54), January to Rs 100.05 (99.23) and February to Rs 101 (100.62) per kg on NMCE. The open interest was 4,548 (4,156) tonnes, while the volumes totalled 3,561 (2,043) tonnes. RSS 3 improved by Rs 1.27 to Rs 95.55 a kg at Bangkok. Spot prices were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 97.50 (99); RSS-5: 95.50 (97); ungraded: 93.50 (94); ISNR 20: 93.75 (96) and latex 60 per cent: 63.50 (63.50).