A stock exchange in Minsk, Belarus, started regular trading of finished lubricants last week after officials saw increased interest for trades of these products on its electronic platform. The Belorussian Universal Commodity Exchange, a joint stock company with a controlling stake owned by the government, plans to host the buying and selling of automotive engine oils as well as hydraulic and transmission fluids, compressor and turbine oils and other industrial lubricants of domestic and foreign ...

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a long, large, global run-up in base oil prices, as well as profit margins, with the latter increasing anywhere from two- to five-fold by last summer. Since then, however, prices and margins have plateaued and some market insiders predict the industry is headed back to pre-pandemic conditions, when a chronic surplus of capacity exerted downward pressure on prices and compressed margins.

BP reported that the underlying replacement cost profit before interest and tax for its Castrol lubricants business climbed 27% in 2021, driven by growth in premium product sales and growth markets, but dropped 21% in the fourth quarter because of additive shortages and higher base oil prices.

New passenger and light commercial vehicle sales in Russia increased by 4.3% in 2021, driven primarily by positive sales in the second quarter of the year, a Russian trade association said.