US base oils exports held steady at lower levels in March, cutting first-quarter shipments to the lowest in more than a year.Lower base oils exports contrasted with a surge in the country’s lubricants shipments to overseas markets.Lube exports exceeded base oils shipments in March for the second time in three months.Before this year, the last time that lube exports exceeded base oils exports was in mid-2022.Before mid-2022, lube exports exceeded base oils exports just two times since 2018.The trend pointed to moves to cover a rising share of overseas lubricants demand through finished products rather than with base oils feedstock supplies.Such a move would sustain firm demand from domestic blenders for base oils supplies.It would leave domestic rather than overseas blenders locking in the firmer margins that finished lubricants typically enjoy.Firmer demand from domestic blenders would also trim the volume of base oils supplies available for export.US base oils exports duly edged down to 1.85 million barrels (260,000 tonnes) in March, government data showed.The volume fell from 1.89 million barrels in February and for the second time in three months from year-earlier levels.The drop in shipments cut total base oils exports to 5.30 million barrels in the first three months of the year.The volume fell from close to 6.50 million barrels during the previous three months to the lowest quarterly level since late-2022.US base oils and lube stocks held relatively steady at lower levels in the first two months of the year even with the drop in base oils exports.The lower inventories partly reflected the impact of the surge in lubricants exports that began in the second half of last year and extended into the first quarter of this year.Total base oils and lubricants exports duly rose to a twenty-month high of than 4.20 million barrels in March.Lubricants exports accounted for more than half the volume.The surge in total shipments raised the prospect of limiting a build-up of surplus supplies in the US in the first quarter of the year..US’ February base oils exports improve.US Feb base oils/lube demand mixed
US base oils exports held steady at lower levels in March, cutting first-quarter shipments to the lowest in more than a year.Lower base oils exports contrasted with a surge in the country’s lubricants shipments to overseas markets.Lube exports exceeded base oils shipments in March for the second time in three months.Before this year, the last time that lube exports exceeded base oils exports was in mid-2022.Before mid-2022, lube exports exceeded base oils exports just two times since 2018.The trend pointed to moves to cover a rising share of overseas lubricants demand through finished products rather than with base oils feedstock supplies.Such a move would sustain firm demand from domestic blenders for base oils supplies.It would leave domestic rather than overseas blenders locking in the firmer margins that finished lubricants typically enjoy.Firmer demand from domestic blenders would also trim the volume of base oils supplies available for export.US base oils exports duly edged down to 1.85 million barrels (260,000 tonnes) in March, government data showed.The volume fell from 1.89 million barrels in February and for the second time in three months from year-earlier levels.The drop in shipments cut total base oils exports to 5.30 million barrels in the first three months of the year.The volume fell from close to 6.50 million barrels during the previous three months to the lowest quarterly level since late-2022.US base oils and lube stocks held relatively steady at lower levels in the first two months of the year even with the drop in base oils exports.The lower inventories partly reflected the impact of the surge in lubricants exports that began in the second half of last year and extended into the first quarter of this year.Total base oils and lubricants exports duly rose to a twenty-month high of than 4.20 million barrels in March.Lubricants exports accounted for more than half the volume.The surge in total shipments raised the prospect of limiting a build-up of surplus supplies in the US in the first quarter of the year..US’ February base oils exports improve.US Feb base oils/lube demand mixed
