Argentina’s lubricating oil production fell in February for a fifth month amid a sharp drop in output of automobile lubricants.

Total lube output of 20,830m³ (18,300t) in February fell by 5pc versus the same period last year, government data showed.

Lube production has now held around the 20,000 m³/month level for the last three months. Output had averaged around 24,000 m³/month in 2021.

Production fell following a slowdown in lube demand since last October. Lube consumption in other countries in the region showed a similar trend as car sales contracted and industrial growth slowed.

But Argentina’s lube consumption showed signs of recovery in February, especially for automobile lubricants. That recovery diverged from an ongoing slide in production of those lubricants.

The trend cut the surplus of automobile lubricants output to auto lube demand to less than 500m³ in February. The surplus was the smallest since mid-2020.