Argentina’s national oil company YPF and Shell expanded their share of Argentina’s lube market in July as they increased their share of auto and industrial oils sales.

YPF increased its share of Argentina’s lube market to more than 46pc of total sales in July, government data showed.

The share was up from less than 40pc the previous month and the highest this year. It was also higher than its share of less than 41pc of total lube sales in the first seven months of the year.

YPF boosted its share of automobile lubricant sales in July by more than 7 percentage points from the previous month to almost 45pc of the total.

Its share of industrial oils sales rose to more than 50pc of the total.

Argentina’s lube demand rose in July for a ninth straight month. But the pace of the increase was the slowest since last October as automobile oils sales growth ground to a halt.

Lube demand in Brazil showed a similar slowdown as rising inflation and interest rates weighed on economic growth in the region.

Shell remained Argentina’s second-largest lubricants supplier in July with a share of more than 31pc of total sales. The share was up from around 27pc the previous month and the highest this year.

Its share of industrial oils sales rose to close to 40pc of the total in July, up almost 8 percentage points from the previous month.

YPF and Shell’s combined share of industrial oils came to more than 90pc of the July total, up from less than 80pc in June.

Their dominant position contrasted with a larger number of larger lubricants suppliers in other markets like Brazil.