Spain’s lubricating oil consumption fell in December at its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2020, when regionwide lockdowns slashed demand.The country’s lube consumption typically faces a sharp seasonal slowdown in the final month of the year. A slowdown in economic growth compounded the drop in consumption.Low consumption and uncertainty about the impact of weak economic growth on future demand incentivized blenders to minimize their base oils inventories.The pattern repeated itself in other markets like Italy..Italy's December lube demand falls.Low demand magnified the impact of Europe’s surplus base oils supplies at the end of last year.Prices fell sharply in response.The drop in prices, and expectations that base oils supply was readily available, added to blenders’ preference to hold back.Markets such as Spain now faced the prospect of a seasonal pick-up in lube consumption over the coming weeks and of blenders’ need to replenish depleted stocks.Demand could be stronger than anticipated after economic activity weakened less than expected during the winter months.Spain’s lube consumption of less than 27,000t in December fell by 24pc from 35,290t the previous month, according to CORES, which tracks the country's energy stocks..Demand fell by 11pc from year-earlier levels to the lowest for the month of December since 2014.The drop in lube consumption for a fourth month mirrored a slump in the country’s manufacturing activity.Spain’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January pointed to shrinking activity for a seventh straight month.But there was a rise in business confidence in the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of the year. The country’s services activity also continued to expand in January.A stronger-than-expected seasonal rise in lube demand in the coming months would follow regional refiners’ moves to cut base oils production or clear surplus volumes in other markets.The market is set to reflect the repercussions of those changing supply-demand dynamics over the coming weeks.Spain’s total lube consumption of 409,720t in 2022 fell by 2pc from the previous year to the second-lowest since 2016.The lowest in that time had been in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a slump in economic activity. .Europe’s November lube demand falls
Spain’s lubricating oil consumption fell in December at its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2020, when regionwide lockdowns slashed demand.The country’s lube consumption typically faces a sharp seasonal slowdown in the final month of the year. A slowdown in economic growth compounded the drop in consumption.Low consumption and uncertainty about the impact of weak economic growth on future demand incentivized blenders to minimize their base oils inventories.The pattern repeated itself in other markets like Italy..Italy's December lube demand falls.Low demand magnified the impact of Europe’s surplus base oils supplies at the end of last year.Prices fell sharply in response.The drop in prices, and expectations that base oils supply was readily available, added to blenders’ preference to hold back.Markets such as Spain now faced the prospect of a seasonal pick-up in lube consumption over the coming weeks and of blenders’ need to replenish depleted stocks.Demand could be stronger than anticipated after economic activity weakened less than expected during the winter months.Spain’s lube consumption of less than 27,000t in December fell by 24pc from 35,290t the previous month, according to CORES, which tracks the country's energy stocks..Demand fell by 11pc from year-earlier levels to the lowest for the month of December since 2014.The drop in lube consumption for a fourth month mirrored a slump in the country’s manufacturing activity.Spain’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January pointed to shrinking activity for a seventh straight month.But there was a rise in business confidence in the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of the year. The country’s services activity also continued to expand in January.A stronger-than-expected seasonal rise in lube demand in the coming months would follow regional refiners’ moves to cut base oils production or clear surplus volumes in other markets.The market is set to reflect the repercussions of those changing supply-demand dynamics over the coming weeks.Spain’s total lube consumption of 409,720t in 2022 fell by 2pc from the previous year to the second-lowest since 2016.The lowest in that time had been in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a slump in economic activity. .Europe’s November lube demand falls
