Argentina’s base oils supply rose in October as domestic output climbed to a fifteen-month high, outpacing a sustained dip in imports.Rising output and falling imports extended a trend throughout the year as sliding demand boosted the attraction of maintaining low stocks and procuring smaller volumes with a quicker delivery time.The rare shipment of a base oils cargo from Argentina to Brazil in October suggested that supply continued to exceed demand even with the drop in imports.The dynamic suggested that a pick-up in demand for overseas supplies from markets like the US was unlikely anytime soon.Base oils output of more than 15,700 cubic meters (14,000 tonnes) in October rose from more than 7,000 cubic meters the previous month to the highest since mid-2023, government data showed.Output rose for the sixth time in seven months from year-earlier levels.Rising output cut requirements for base oils imports, which fell in October for the fifth time in six months from year-earlier levels.Argentina’s base oils supply, or output and imports combined, still rose to more 20,700 cubic meters in October, up from 10,100 cubic meters the previous month.The rise in production boosted its share of Argentina’s supply to more than 75% of the total in October and to close to 60% of the total in the first ten months of the year.Shrinking imports in turn increased the importance for overseas suppliers to maximise their share of those supplies.A wave of shipments from the Middle East in August and September accounted for most of Argentina’s imports during those two months.The rise in shipments from those markets compounded the drop in supplies from the US.The prospect of rising surplus supplies in the US market during the final quarter of the year increased the importance of reversing that trend and maximizing shipments to outlets like Argentina.A sustained drop in US base oils export prices from early September duly complicated the arbitrage from other markets and boosted the attraction of flows from the US.Supplies from the US duly accounted for more than 80% of Argentina’s total imports in October, up from less than 30% during the previous two months..Argentina’s October lube demand falls.Latin America Sept lube demand falls.US September base oil/lube exports fall
