Asia’s lubricating oil demand faces a slowdown in April, partly in response to a likely surge in consumption in the month of March.Lube demand typically gets a boost late in the first quarter of the year from a seasonal pick-up in consumption.Blenders in markets like India and Japan often seek to boost sales through promotions in March to meet sales targets before financial year-end.The subsequent moves to bring forward consumption to the month of March result in a slowdown in demand in April.Lube demand in March and April combined typically remains well above average monthly levels for the rest of the year.The trend reflects the rise in end-user lube consumption during those months.Asia’s lube demand is likely to fall below 2.30mn t in the second quarter of the year, from close to 2.50mn t in the first three months of the year, according to the Baseoilnews short-term outlook.Demand is likely to peak in March at the highest level for the year, before falling sharply in the month of April.Consumption is then likely to revert to more typical levels during the rest of the second quarter, even if still below average levels for March and April combined.Asia’s Group II base oil price premium to regional gasoil prices rebounded in the three months to end-April in 2022 and in 2023, ICIS data showed.The trend reflected the stronger demand fundamentals during that period.Last year’s Group II premium to gasoil then fell over the next three months to early August 2023..Asia’s December lube demand rises
