Tokyo rubber closes lower

Tokyo rubber futures closed down on Monday, snapping an eight-day bull run as funds locked in profits after a rise of more than 1 per cent in early trade to a one-month high on strong oil prices. ''Follow-through buying emerged in early trade, but profit-taking pushed down prices from the high after sharp gains in the last week,'' said Mr Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and Securities Ltd. The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for February delivery finished at ¥318.2 a kg, down ¥2.5 or 0.8 per cent. The February contract rose as high as ¥324.9 per kg - the highest for a benchmark contract since Aug. 1.

Rubber Sees Steady Trend

The domestic rubber prices were firm on Sept 11. Traders remained to sideline the market and the inflow of the raw material hit the bottom lines. RSS 4 ended flat at Rs 141 a kg as on Sept 10. According to observers any visible change is hoped only after the Onam holidays. Meanwhile, the trend-setting Japanese rubber futures ended in red reporting slightly losses as it recovered partially on late trading followed by short covering at lower levels. Its spot closed at Rs 133.77 (133.18) a kg at Bangkok. Spot prices were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 141 (141); RSS-5: 138 (138); ungraded: 136 (136); ISNR 20: 130 (130) and latex 60 per cent: 81 (81)

Coonoor Tea Sales Turnover Increases Rs 97cr

Producers who sold their teas via the 35 sales held in the eight months of 2008 at the auctions of Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) have earned Rs 97.28 crore more than in the same period of 2007. In all, 3.43 crore kgs were sold against 2.34 crore kgs. On an average, every kg got Rs 14 more to increase to Rs 59.24. This marked an increase of Rs 97.28 crore or 92 per cent. Earnings rose for both the orthodox and CTC teas. Of the 3.43 crore kgs, CTC teas calculated for 3.20 crore kgs. Prices increased to an average of Rs 59.03 a kg from Rs 44.24. The volume of orthodox teas totalled 2.27 million kgs against 1.98 million kgs last year