US base oils supply rose to a four-month high in January as a rebound in imports outweighed a drop in domestic production.Rising supply contrasted with sliding base oils and lube demand from year-earlier levels.Shrinking demand compounded the impact of typically-weaker consumption during the winter months.US base oils and lube stocks duly rose to a twenty-one-month high.Supply rose even as US base oils and lube output fell back to 4.67 million barrels (658,000 tonnes) in January, government data showed..The volume fell from 5.05 million barrels the previous month to the second-lowest level in the past year.The drop in production mostly reflected a slump in output in the Texas Gulf Coast district to a fifteen-month low.Output fell despite the lack of any scheduled plant maintenance work.But it coincided with and likely reflected the impact of unusually cold weather in the US Gulf coast region in the month of January.Lower base oils output coincided with firm export volumes in January, further cutting domestic supply.A rebound in base oils imports and weaker-than-usual domestic demand more than reversed the domestic refiners’ tighter supply fundamentals.The diverging variables highlighted domestic refiners’ greater control over output and exports and less control over imports and demand.A sustained rebound in imports since mid-2024 and an ongoing slide in domestic demand duly magnified the impact of that dynamic.The trend also pointed to rising consumption of Group III base oils as a share of shrinking domestic demand.Rising Group III base oils consumption in turn kept pressure on US refiners to trim output or to maintain base oils exports at elevated levels to avoid a build-up of surplus supplies.US base oils and lube stocks still rose in January even with lower domestic output and elevated exports, highlighting the challenge for domestic refiners..US’ January base oils imports rise
US base oils supply rose to a four-month high in January as a rebound in imports outweighed a drop in domestic production.Rising supply contrasted with sliding base oils and lube demand from year-earlier levels.Shrinking demand compounded the impact of typically-weaker consumption during the winter months.US base oils and lube stocks duly rose to a twenty-one-month high.Supply rose even as US base oils and lube output fell back to 4.67 million barrels (658,000 tonnes) in January, government data showed..The volume fell from 5.05 million barrels the previous month to the second-lowest level in the past year.The drop in production mostly reflected a slump in output in the Texas Gulf Coast district to a fifteen-month low.Output fell despite the lack of any scheduled plant maintenance work.But it coincided with and likely reflected the impact of unusually cold weather in the US Gulf coast region in the month of January.Lower base oils output coincided with firm export volumes in January, further cutting domestic supply.A rebound in base oils imports and weaker-than-usual domestic demand more than reversed the domestic refiners’ tighter supply fundamentals.The diverging variables highlighted domestic refiners’ greater control over output and exports and less control over imports and demand.A sustained rebound in imports since mid-2024 and an ongoing slide in domestic demand duly magnified the impact of that dynamic.The trend also pointed to rising consumption of Group III base oils as a share of shrinking domestic demand.Rising Group III base oils consumption in turn kept pressure on US refiners to trim output or to maintain base oils exports at elevated levels to avoid a build-up of surplus supplies.US base oils and lube stocks still rose in January even with lower domestic output and elevated exports, highlighting the challenge for domestic refiners..US’ January base oils imports rise
