Thailand’s lube demand fell for a fifth month in January as an ongoing slowdown in manufacturing activity cut industrial oils consumption.Passenger-car engine oil (PCMO) demand rose in January, reflecting the ongoing strength of the services sector. PCMO demand is likely to get further support over the coming months on the back of a surge in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand.A seasonal rise in lube consumption at the end of the first quarter of the year should provide additional support.Lube demand for the year typically peaks in the month of March.Demand could get a further boost from signs that the slowdown in Thailand’s manufacturing activity is bottoming out.Firmer demand raised the prospect of boosting the country’s base oils requirements from its domestic refiners and from regional sources.The trend would coincide with an expected pick-up in China’s base oils consumption over the coming months.Thailand’s lube consumption of 35,440 kilolitres (31,400t) in January rose from a seventeen-month low of 31,150kl the previous month, government data showed. The volume excluded base oils from the total..Demand still fell by 8pc from year-earlier levels.Lube consumption fell every month since last September in the face of rising interest rates and slowing growth in overseas markets.The country’s economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous three months as exports and manufacturing activity slowed.The slowdown showed signs of bottoming out.Thailand’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose in February for a third month to a five-month high. The country’s consumer confidence rose in January to the highest in almost three years.Rising confidence partly reflected the boost to economic activity from an expected surge in Chinese tourists to the country.The expectation already showed signs of materializing.Tourist arrivals of more than 90,000 from China in January rose from less than 55,000 in December and from around 3,000 in January 2022.Those numbers are likely to rise sharply.More than 1mn tourists from China travelled to Thailand in January 2020, before lockdowns slashed international travel and tourism.Thailand’s firm PCMO consumption highlighted the relative strength of the country’s retail and services sector even before the upcoming rise in tourist numbers from China.PCMO demand rose by 2pc in January and for the seventh time in nine months.Consumption of heavy-duty engine oils (HDEO) remained weaker. The lubricant is more reflective of the state of the industrial sector.HDEO demand fell by 18pc in January and for a fifth straight month.Sales of other lubricants remained similarly weak..Japan’s Jan base oils/lube demand slips
Thailand’s lube demand fell for a fifth month in January as an ongoing slowdown in manufacturing activity cut industrial oils consumption.Passenger-car engine oil (PCMO) demand rose in January, reflecting the ongoing strength of the services sector. PCMO demand is likely to get further support over the coming months on the back of a surge in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand.A seasonal rise in lube consumption at the end of the first quarter of the year should provide additional support.Lube demand for the year typically peaks in the month of March.Demand could get a further boost from signs that the slowdown in Thailand’s manufacturing activity is bottoming out.Firmer demand raised the prospect of boosting the country’s base oils requirements from its domestic refiners and from regional sources.The trend would coincide with an expected pick-up in China’s base oils consumption over the coming months.Thailand’s lube consumption of 35,440 kilolitres (31,400t) in January rose from a seventeen-month low of 31,150kl the previous month, government data showed. The volume excluded base oils from the total..Demand still fell by 8pc from year-earlier levels.Lube consumption fell every month since last September in the face of rising interest rates and slowing growth in overseas markets.The country’s economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous three months as exports and manufacturing activity slowed.The slowdown showed signs of bottoming out.Thailand’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose in February for a third month to a five-month high. The country’s consumer confidence rose in January to the highest in almost three years.Rising confidence partly reflected the boost to economic activity from an expected surge in Chinese tourists to the country.The expectation already showed signs of materializing.Tourist arrivals of more than 90,000 from China in January rose from less than 55,000 in December and from around 3,000 in January 2022.Those numbers are likely to rise sharply.More than 1mn tourists from China travelled to Thailand in January 2020, before lockdowns slashed international travel and tourism.Thailand’s firm PCMO consumption highlighted the relative strength of the country’s retail and services sector even before the upcoming rise in tourist numbers from China.PCMO demand rose by 2pc in January and for the seventh time in nine months.Consumption of heavy-duty engine oils (HDEO) remained weaker. The lubricant is more reflective of the state of the industrial sector.HDEO demand fell by 18pc in January and for a fifth straight month.Sales of other lubricants remained similarly weak..Japan’s Jan base oils/lube demand slips
