Kuala lumpur: The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended lower on Monday, weighed down by regional rubber futures.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, a dealer noted that Japanese rubber futures declined as natural rubber production increased in major producing countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, following the wintering season.

The market sentiment was also affected by the fragile interim peace deal in West Asia and weakness in global automobile demand. Toyota Motor reported on Monday that global vehicle sales slipped for a fourth consecutive month in May by 7.2 percent, with decreases in China and the Middle East impacting overall results.

However, further losses were limited by gains in crude oil prices and the resilient Chinese economic performance. At the time of writing, Brent crude increased 0.90 percent to US$72.61 per barrel.

At 3 pm today, the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) fell 21.5 sen to 859 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk was down by ten sen to 759.50 sen per kg.