Thailand’s lube demand rose in January for a second month, adding to signs of a widespread pick-up in consumption throughout southeast Asia.The rise in consumption coincided with base oils plant maintenance in Asia, trimming regional supply.Stock-building ahead of additional maintenance work later in the first quarter added to the squeeze on supply.Firmer-than-expected demand and tighter supply trimmed the size of a typical rise in surplus base oils volumes at the start of the year.Asia’s base oils cargo prices held firm relative to gasoil and relative to other regions at the start of the year, reflecting the tighter-than-usual supply-demand fundamentals.Thailand’s lube consumption of 52,000 kilolitres (46,000 tonnes) in January rose by 23% from year-earlier levels, government data showed..The size of the increase was the fastest in seven months.Demand got a boost from a 35% rise in consumption of passenger car motor oils, which is considered a bellwether for the state of services activity.The rise in demand coincided with a surge in tourists travelling to Thailand at the start of the year.PTT Oil and Retail was the country’s largest lube supplier in January, and Shell Company of Thailand the second largest.Rising lube demand triggered an increase in Thailand’s consumption of Group I base oils from its domestic refiners.Consumption of more than 15,000 kilolitres of Group I base oils rose by 31% in January from a year earlier to the highest in almost two years.Rising domestic base oils consumption coincided with a drop in Thailand’s base oils output in January, cutting availability for export.The country’s base oils exports remained unusually high in January, rising for a fourth straight month from year-earlier levels even with the tighter supply.The dynamic speeded up the removal of surplus volumes that built up at the end of last year.The move duly left Thailand heading into its peak lube-demand period at the end of the first quarter with lower base oils inventories. .Thailand’s January base oils supply falls.Thailand’s December lube demand rises
