The Business Standard reports, "A rebound in natural rubber prices has prompted tire manufacturers to replace natural rubber with synthetic products to keep their margins intact. Spot polled prices by Ahmedabad-based National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) showed around a 6 percent increase in the last one week after hitting an over six months low on October 14.
NMCE data showed the natural rubber price at Rs 118 a kg on October 14 which shot up to Rs 125 a quintal on October 22. The turnaround in natural rubber price came at a time when synthetic rubber remained stagnant with a downward bias following the trend in crude oil price. Being a derivative of crude oil, synthetic rubber price moves in tandem with crude oil price.