Argentina’s May base oils supply falls

Argentina’s base oils supply fell to a ten-month low in May amid a simultaneous dip in domestic production and imports.

Base oils output of 6,050mᶟ (5,360t) in May fell from 9,030mᶟ in April and from more than 10,500mᶟ the same month a year earlier, government data showed.

A surge in base oils imports over the past year covered for a drop in the country’s base oils output during that time.

But imports also fell in May, dipping to a fourteen-month low of 3,240mᶟ.

The volume was down from typical levels of more than 8,500 mᶟ/month in the first four months of the year and almost 12,000 mᶟ/month in 2022.

The US accounted for almost all of Argentina’s base oils imports in May for a second month amid a pause in arbitrage flows from other regions.