Kochi: The natural rubber price has breached the Rs 150-mark (per kg) for the benchmark RSS-4 grade after hovering around Rs 124-136 for the first five months of this year. The RSS-4 grade in spot markets of Kottayam and Kochi on Tuesday closed at Rs 152 per kg, helped by domestic supply constraints and tracking uptrend in rubber markets abroad.
The beginning of monsoon in Kerala is considered as lean months of production for natural rubber. The rubber farmers have been staying away from tapping trees in lean months due to the lower price in the past two-three years, industry sources said. The shortage of RSS-4 grade sheets also contributed to the spurt in demand.
The rubber prices hitting a three-month high in Tokyo Commodity Exchange on Thursday also helped in boosting sentiments in domestic market. The uptrend in demand from foreign funds and increase in spot prices in Thailand, the largest producer of natural rubber in the world, helped the rally in Tocom, reports said. The adverse weather conditions and the decision of Thailand to increase domestic consumption helped prices to move up in that country.
Although rubber growers are happy about the rise in prices, most of them remained doubtful about its long-term sustainability as the price in the domestic market is often shaped by the demand and supply situation in global markets.
