Base oils and lube demand rose to an eleven-month high in February in key markets in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Consumption of around 1.16mn t in February rose from 1.11mn t the previous month to the highest since March 2022.

Demand still fell by 2pc from year-earlier levels and for the tenth time in eleven months.

The pick-up in demand from January contrasted with a slump in base oils output in the Americas region and signs of lower output in Europe.

The Asia demand volume excluded China. The Americas demand excluded the US.

Including those countries, total demand of little more than 2.0mn t in February fell from the previous month and held at a similar level for most of the previous four months.