Mexico’s base oils imports rose in September to the second-highest level in two years, extending a strong pick-up in shipments in the third quarter of the year.

Total imports came to more than 100,000 kilolitres (92,000 tonnes) in September, government data showed.

The volume was the highest since July and second-highest since September 2023.

The rise in shipments lifted total imports to more than 300,000 kilolitres in the third quarter. That volume was also the highest in two years.

Imports rose in the third quarter of the year even as Mexico’s lube consumption extended its fall.

The dynamic widened the already-large surplus of base oils imports over domestic lube consumption.

US base oils exports to Mexico in turn typically far exceed the Latin American country’s total import volume.

That dynamic changed in July when US export and Mexico import volumes were much closer than usual.

The smaller disparity preceded Mexico’s introduction of stricter rules on fuel imports from the start of the fourth quarter of the year.