Markets around the world still feel eerily calm, almost as though they are waiting for something like a spark to ignite demand, but it just fails to happen. For many owners it is a hand-to-mouth existence.-by Adrian Brown

The Japanese Automotive Standards Organization is preparing for adoption next month of a new specification for ultra-low-viscosity 0W-12 and 0W-8 passenger car motor oils, GLV-1, with plans to introduce it to market in October.

Base oil imports to China were virtually flat at 2.81 million metric tons in 2018, according to data from the nations General Administration of Customs. That would account for roughly 45 percent of Chinas total base oil demand, based on a recent estimate of the size of its lubricant market.

Together with the United States, China will shape the passenger car motor oil market through 2040, said George Morvey of consultancy Kline & Co., speaking at an industry conference in London last month. The countrys emphasis on electric vehicles will play a major role during the latter part of the forecast.

United Global Ltd. reported double-digit percentage growth in net profit last year due to an increase in demand in the automotive sector, while fellow Singaporean lubricant blender AP Oil International Ltd. continued its decline in net profit for 2018 following a drop in 2017, mainly due to the loss of a major marine lubricant customer.