Brazil’s base oils supply fell to a fifteen-month low in December and lagged demand for the second time in three months.The shortfall and lack of any supply-build at the end of the year raised the prospect of supporting firmer demand at the start of this year.Refiners in the US would be a key beneficiary of any such rise in demand.A pick-up in shipments to Brazil from less regular sources like South Korea and Argentina pointed to moves to replenish lower stocks.The shipments could also curb the size of buyers’ requirements for supplies from the US.Brazil’s base oils supply fell in December because of a slump in imports to a three-year low, government data showed.Imports of less than 34,000 cubic meters (30,000 tonnes) fell from close to 90,000 cubic meters in November and from typical levels of around 87,000 cubic meters/month over the past year.The drop in imports slashed Brazil’s total supply, or output and imports combined, to 87,000 cubic meters in December.The volume was the lowest since September 2023.Brazil’s demand also fell in December, dipping to a one-year low amid a seasonal slowdown in consumption.A rise in domestic consumption from year-earlier levels cushioned the slowdown.Total demand, or domestic consumption and exports combined, came to close to 114,000 cubic meters in December.The volume fell from 122,000 cubic meters in November but still rose by 9% and for the eighth time in nine months from year-earlier levels.Supply duly lagged demand by more than 26,000 cubic meters in December and by close to 30,000 cubic meters in the fourth quarter of the year.The shortfall contrasted with a surplus of more than 50,000 cubic meters in the fourth quarter of 2023.The shortfall left blenders with lower stocks ahead of a seasonal pick-up in demand later in the first quarter of the year..ICONIC Brazil’s largest lube supplier in 2024.Brazil’s December lube demand rises.Argentina’s Dec base oils supply rises
