US base oils imports rebounded to a nine-month high in June on the back of a surge in shipments from the Middle East.Total imports of 1.67 million barrels (236,000 tonnes) in June rose from 1.0 million barrels the previous month, government data showed..The volume rose for a fourth straight month from year-earlier levels to the highest since last September.Most of the shipments consisted of Group III base oils, with almost half of that volume consisting of supplies from the Middle East.Most of those shipments from the Middle East loaded in April, ahead of maintenance work that affected two key Group III base oils units in the region during the second quarter of the year.US base oils imports from the Middle East then showed signs of slowing in July and especially in August.The pick-up in the arrival of Group III shipments in June helped to cover for a seasonal rise in US base oils consumption during the second quarter of the year..Signs of a slowdown in shipments from the Middle East in July and August coincided with a seasonal slowdown in domestic consumption during the summer months.The recent weakness of US Group III base oils prices suggested that the drop in demand outpaced the impact of the slowdown in imports.The rise in US imports in June also contrasted with a fall in the country’s base oils exports to an eleven-month low.The dynamic raised the prospect of a sharper pick-up in domestic supply of premium-grade base oils.The rise in supply in June likely coincided with higher domestic base oils output following the completion of most plant-maintenance work in the US during the previous three months.Rising supply increased the importance of an extension of the rebound in domestic demand beyond just the month of May.Any slowdown in demand by contrast raised the prospect of speeding up a rise in surplus supplies.Weaker domestic Group III prices and the recent fall in US Group II base oils export prices suggested the US market was now starting to face and deal with that scenario..US June base oils/lube exports fall.S Korea June base oils exports to US rise.US’ May base oils stocks fall.Base Oil News stories and analysis also available on ICIS platform
