Brazil’s lube demand rose in June for the fifth time in six months, sustaining growing requirements for large volumes of base oils to meet that consumption.Persistent requirements for large volumes kept pressure on domestic refiners to maintain high base oils output levels.Persistent requirements for large volumes from overseas markets sustained Brazil’s reliance on the US to cover a large share of those supplies.Concern about weather-related supply disruptions in the US over the coming months in turn boosted the incentive for blenders to line up more supplies from other sources instead.Brazil’ lubricants sales from the country’s nine largest lube suppliers came to 109,300 cubic meters (96,800 tonnes) in June, IBP data showed.The suppliers accounted for more than 83% of Brazil’s total lube consumption in 2023.The June volume rose by 11% from year-earlier levels to the highest since March 2023.Demand got a boost from a 7% pick-up in consumption in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.The recovery in consumption partially reversed a 33% slide in the region’s lube demand in May, when severe flooding caused widespread damage and brought industrial output to a standstill.The recovery extended to Brazil’s automobile production, which rose in June following a sharp contraction the previous month.ICONIC Lubricants remained Brazil’s largest lube supplier in June with a market share of more than 25%.Vibra Energia was the second-largest supplier, with its market share rising above Moove for the first time in a year..Brazil’s May base oils supply-demand balance stays tighter.Latin America’s May lube demand falls
