India may extend ban on rubber futures

India may extend a ban on futures trading in rubber for another four months because of a sharp rise in spot prices, the Business Standard newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified market sources. The government had suspended futures trading in rubber, soyoil, potato and chickpea in May for four months, under pressure from its allies to control soaring inflation.
Despite the ban, rubber prices have gone up by 22 rupees ($0.5) per kg in the past 15 weeks, the newspaper said, with spot prices of benchmark RSS-4 at 140 rupees a kg on Monday, off a record 142 last week. B.C. Khatua, chairman of the regulator Forward Markets Commission, had said in July the ban on futures trade in the four commodities were not likely to be extended beyond September.