US base oils output fell in April to the lowest in more than three years at the same time as demand enjoyed a seasonal boost.The country’s supply shortfall duly increased to its widest level in more than three years even with a pick-up in imports and drop in exports.Tighter supply-demand fundamentals helped base oils prices ignore the slump in crude oil prices at the beginning of the second quarter.Base oils export price-margins instead climbed in April and early-May to the highest level in seven months.US base oils and lube output of 3.90 million barrels (549,000 tonnes) in April fell from 4.85 million barrels the previous month, government data showed..The volume was the lowest since February 2021, when adverse winter weather disrupted refinery operations.Output fell this time mostly because of a heavy round of overlapping scheduled plant-maintenance work.The lower output contrasted with a seasonal rise in US base oils and lube consumption in April to a one-year high of 2.90 million barrels.A drop in base oils exports and rise in base oils imports helped to cushion the diverging domestic supply-demand fundamentals.Total base oils supply, or output and imports combined, came to 5.46 million barrels in April.The volume was the second-lowest in more than two years.It was still up from less than 4.80 million barrels in February, when lower imports compounded a similar slump in the country’s base oils output.Total demand, or domestic consumption and exports combined, rose to a six-month high of 6.46 million barrels in April.The volume would have been even higher but for a dip in exports to a seven-month low.The dynamic left supply lagging demand for a third month and extending a slump in the country’s base oils stocks to an eight-month low.The tighter supply-demand fundamentals supported higher US base oils margins in the second quarter of the year.The increase in base oils margins from the first three months of the year was much smaller than the surge in margins during the second quarter of 2024 from the previous three months.The rise in margins was more muted even with a sharper drop in the US’ net supply in the three months to April this year than last year.Net supply also fell against the backdrop of a larger-than-usual fall in base oils output in other key markets at the start of the second quarter.But demand was also lower in April compared with year-earlier levels in every key market, including the US..US’ April base oils/lube exports fall.US’ April base oils imports hold firm.Asia’s April lube demand falls.Europe April Grp III base oils supply falls.UK’s April base oils output falls
