Austria’s lubricating oil consumption rose in 2021 on the back of strong demand for gear oils, metal working fluids and transformer oils.But demand remained lower than 2019 levels.Lube consumption of 58,830t in 2021 rose by 6pc from the previous year, government data showed..The improvement in demand last year followed a similar trend in most other European countries like France and Germany as economic activity rebounded.But the recovery in consumption was muted, especially in view of the low base level the previous year. Like many of those other countries, Austria’s lube demand remained lower than in 2019, when consumption was close to 62,000t.The weak recovery partly reflected a rise of just 4pc in the country’s motor oils consumption in 2021. The increase followed an 18pc fall in consumption of the lubricants the previous year.Engine oil consumption remained under pressure as the country’s car sales extended their slide in 2021. Sales of less than 240,000 cars last year were down by more than a quarter from almost 330,000 vehicles in 2019..Germany’s December lube demand falls
