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US base oils exports fell in June to a four-month low amid a slump in shipments from the district of San Francisco.
Total exports of 1.58mn bl in June fell by 13pc from the same month a year earlier to the lowest since February, government data showed.
Exports slid by 25pc from 2.11mn bl the previous month.
The May volume had been higher than usual and the second highest in four years. The June volume was lower than usual, lagging average levels of 1.79mn bl/month over the past year.
Total exports of 11.29mn bl in the first half of the year were up 5pc from 10.71mn bl during the same period last year.
The rise in base oil exports this year helped to plug a supply shortfall in Europe and to meet firm demand in other major outlets like Latin America and Africa.
The drop in exports in June mostly reflected the impact of an almost complete cessation of shipments from San Francisco.
Exports from the US West coast district were down from more than 126,000bl the previous month.
The pause in exports suggested an activity such as a plant shutdown for maintenance work. The region is home to a key Group II base oils plant.
Exports from the US West coast district had already been more volatile than usual in the nine months before the June stoppage.
Its base oils exports had averaged close to 240,000 bl/month in the first eight months of last year.
They have averaged less than 185,000 bl/month in the first half of this year and less than 43,000 bl/month in the second quarter of the year.
Base oils exports from most other US districts also fell in June. The trend suggests either firm domestic demand in the US or a diversion of more supplies to the domestic market to cover for plant maintenance work.
The market impact of the drop in US base oils exports was more muted amid easing supply tightness in other markets and lower crude and diesel prices.
The drop in shipments coincided with a seasonal slowdown in European demand from July and signs of increasingly plentiful surplus availability in Asia-Pacific.
