KUALA LUMPUR, The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed higher on Monday due to an uptrend in the regional rubber futures market and gains in benchmark crude oil prices amid mixed Chinese economic data, a dealer said. She said Japanese rubber futures hit a 13-year high, buoyed by a weaker yen and higher oil prices. 'Nevertheless, further gains were capped by a stronger ringgit against the US dollar and pressure from the Middle East crisis,' the dealer told Bernama. The sentiment was also boosted by supply disruption due to adverse weather conditions in Thailand and the expectation of further economic stimulus from China, the dealer added. She said the top rubber producer Thailand's meteorological agency warned of heavy rain which may cause flash floods from Sept 29 to Oct 5. The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) reported that the price for Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) was down by 21.5 sen to 865 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex-in-bulk increased by 2.5 sen to 712.50 sen per kg. At 5 pm, SMR 20 stoo d at 893.50 sen per kg, with latex-in-bulk at 715.50 sen per kg. Source: BERNAMA News Agency