Argentina’s lubricating oil demand rose in July at its slowest pace in nine months amid waning consumption of automobile lubricants.

The more muted consumption mirrored a similar, even if steeper, slowdown in lube demand in Brazil. The slower consumption raises the prospect of a drop in base oils requirements over the coming months.

Argentina’s total lube demand rose by 0.9pc in July from a year earlier to 19,520mᶟ (17,290t), government data showed.

The firmer consumption lifted total demand to a revised 148,170mᶟ in the first seven months of the year. The volume was up 9pc from 135,490mᶟ during the same period last year.

Argentina’s lube consumption rose in July for a ninth straight month. But the pace of the growth slowed from more than 12pc in the first five months of the year to less than 4pc in June and less than 1pc in July.

Consumption ebbed mostly because of a sharp slowdown in auto lube sales growth in June. Demand then flatlined in July.

Auto lube sales levelled off even as the country’s automobile sales and production extended their strong recovery in July.

Strong demand for automobiles could reflect demand for assets deemed to be a store of value in the face of surging inflation that is compounding weak consumer confidence.

Argentina’s inflation rate rose in July to a 30-year high of more than 70pc. The country’s central bank raised interest rates at end-July to their highest since end-2019.

The country’s industrial lube demand growth also slowed in July for a second month.

The slowdown mirrored a similar drop in the pace of Argentina’s industrial production growth, which rose at a slower pace in June from the previous month.