United States base oils production declined 2% in April, compared to the same month last year, a U.S. government agency reported last week. Output of paraffinic base stocks slid 3% to 4.1 million barrels, while production of naphthenic oils rose 2% to 822,000 barrels.

Brazil’s base oil production, which is mainly API Group I, increased by nearly 20% in May, while imports slipped by 6% and import volume year to date remained more than 40% behind the same period last year, according to data released last week by a government agency.

A proposal to increase a federal tax credit for purchases of new electric vehicles died in the United States Senate last month, leaving in place a $7,500 credit that is phasing out for popular manufacturers. The proposal, part of President Joseph Biden’s Build Back Better plan, would have raised the credit to $12,500 per vehicle but applied it only to vehicles manufactured in the country by union workers.