Spain’s April lube demand falls

Spain’s lubricating oil demand fell to a four-month low in April amid signs a slowdown in Europe’s lube consumption extended into the second quarter of the year.

Lube demand of 30,940t in April fell by 26pc from 41,910t the previous month, government data showed.

The country’s lube consumption typically falls in April from the month of March.

The size of the contraction this year was the second-largest in more than a decade. The largest had been in April 2020, when lockdown measures during the Covid-19 pandemic slashed economic activity.

Lube demand fell by 17pc in April from year-earlier levels. The contraction was the first in three months and mirrored a contraction in consumption in Italy.

The drop in demand left total consumption of 139,180t in the first four months of the year lagging year-earlier levels of 144,210t.