Brazil’s lubricating oil consumption fell in September for a fourth month, curbing base oils demand at a time when overseas surplus supply has risen.
Lube consumption of 83,670mᶟ (74,120t) in September fell by 8pc from year-earlier levels to a seven-month low, according to IBP.
The fall in demand for the twelfth time in thirteen months cut total consumption to 792,370mᶟ in the first nine months of the year.
The volume was down 6pc from 846,440mᶟ during the same period last year.
Brazil’s lube demand fell this year even as the country’s economy continued to expand.
The pace of the expansion was forecast to slow in the second half of the year as a sharp rise in interest rates over the past year squeezed consumer spending.
Lube demand fell even before the expected slowdown.
The country’s economic activity slowed more than expected in August from the previous month amid weaker industrial production and retail sales.
But automobile sales rose in September for a third month and at their fastest pace in more than a year.
The mixed economic signals contrasted with an increasingly uniform slowdown in the country’s lube consumption.
A slowdown in industrial oils demand continued in September for a third month.
Consumption of heavy-duty engine oils (HDEO) fell in September for a sixth month. HDEO demand is often seen as a bellwether for the state of industrial activity.
The sustained slowdown in HDEO consumption also coincided with dwindling sales of diesel-powered light vehicles as a share of total automobile sales.
That share fell to around 12pc of total light-vehicle sales in the first nine months of the year, down from a 13.4pc share in 2021.
Consumption of passenger car engine oils (PCMO) had continued to rise throughout most of this year. But PCMO demand fell by 10pc in September to a seven-month low.
PCMO consumption in September also unusually fell from the month of August for the first time in five years.
Falling lube demand in Latin America’s largest market was likely to prompt blenders to manage their stocks carefully at a time when overseas base oils producers were seeking outlets for persistent surplus supplies.
