Kuala lumpur: The Kuala Lumpur rubber market continued its mixed performance on Tuesday, tracking the regional rubber futures amid declining crude oil prices, a dealer said. He noted that Japanese rubber futures fell for a fifth straight session on Tuesday on weaker physical and oil prices.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, losses were limited by gains in Japanese equities and supply concerns. Oil prices fell due to easing concerns over supply disruptions from the Strait of Hormuz, driven by prospects of United States-Iran talks to end the conflict. At the time of writing, Brent crude fell 0.83 percent to US$98.54 per barrel.

Sentiment was also dampened by soft Chinese economic data. China's exports slowed sharply in March, with outbound shipments rising just 2.5 percent year-on-year, well below expectations of 8.3 percent and down from a 21.8 percent jump in January-February. However, losses were limited by concerns over raw material shortages in major natural rubber-producing countries, growing hopes for a breakthrough in the West Asia conflict, and encouraging global electric vehicle (EV) sales data.

Supply concerns for natural rubber intensified as hot weather disrupted tapping in Thailand, while dry conditions in Vietnam and parts of China further hampered production, tightening raw material availability across key producing regions. Meanwhile, global EV sales posted their first growth this year in March as high fuel prices in Europe boosted demand for electric vehicles, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data showed.

At 3 pm, Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 20 declined by 1.5 sen to 812.5 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk increased by three sen to 767.5 sen per kg.