Rubber witnesses steady trend

Kottayam: A better closing in leading international indices kept the domestic rubber steady on June 18. The futures market reacted more favourably to the global recovery while the physical rubber prices were in mixed trend lacking proper purchasing support from major consuming sectors. Sheet rubber improved to Rs 80.50 a kg both at Kottayam and Kochi from Rs 80 a kg on the previous weekend. The July contract for RSS 4 increased to Rs 83.40 (81.64), August to Rs 84.30 (82.71), September to Rs 83.25 (81.77) and October contract to Rs 81.50 (80.13) per kg for on NMCE. Spot prices were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 80.50 (80); RSS-5: 79.25 (79.25); ungraded: 78.50 (78); ISNR 20: 79 (79) and latex 60 per cent: 60 (60).