India’s lube demand fell in April from the previous month amid a seasonal slowdown in consumption at the start of the new financial year.Lube consumption of 297,000 tonnes in April fell from 416,000 tonnes the previous month, government data showed.But demand rose by 8% from year-earlier levels. The year-on-year increase was the first in four months.Any extension of the pick-up in demand would consume blenders’ base oils feedstock supplies faster and incentivize them to hold larger inventories.Expectations of strong economic growth over the coming months raised the prospect of such a trend.The country’s automobile sales extended their rise in April, with passenger-vehicle sales rising for the fifth time in six months.Growth in India’s core sector industries was the second-highest in four months in March even as it slowed from the previous month.India’s monsoon season from the end of the second quarter is forecast to have above-average rainfall this year.Such an outcome would provide a further boost to the country’s economic growth.A more extended pick-up in India’s lube consumption would boost the country’s base oils requirements.But it could have a more limited impact on demand for overseas base oils supplies as a wave of new production capacity in India starts to come online from the start of the third quarter of the year..India’s March base oils supply lags demand.Base Oil News stories and analysis also available on ICIS platform
