India’s lube demand rose in March for the seventh time in eight months amid a typical seasonal surge in consumption in the final month of the financial year.Lube consumption of 458,000 tonnes in March rose from close to 355,000 tonnes the previous month and by 10% from year-earlier levels, government data showed..The volume was the highest since last May and second-highest since March 2022.India’s lube consumption usually gets a boost in the month of March as blenders maximise sales to reach or beat annual sales targets before financial year-end.The rise in lube consumption likely outpaced the country’s base oils supply in March, when plant maintenance work in India and throughout the Asia-Pacific region tightened supply of the lubricant feedstock.Rising consumption anyway left blenders with depleted stocks at the start of the second quarter of the year.A typical seasonal slowdown in consumption in the month of April curbed the urgency for blenders to replenish those stocks.India’s lube demand fell in the second quarter of the year from the first three months of the year in five of the last six years.India’s base oils supply was anyway likely to get a boost at the start of the second quarter of the year amid elevated export volumes from Singapore to the country in March.A pick-up in base oils exports from US to India in February likely added to those supplies.The pick-up in shipments cut pressure on buyers to seek additional replenishment volumes.The slump in crude oil prices so far in April added to the incentive for blenders to hold back at least until market-volatility eased.Blenders’ lower stocks would also cut the impact of any downward adjustment in base oils prices on the value of those inventories.Their more limited price exposure added to the attraction of holding back for now..India’s February base oils output falls
