India’s June base oils imports rise

India’s base oils imports rose to an eleven-month high in June, boosted by the arrival of a wave of arbitrage shipments from different sources around the world.

Base oils imports of close to 310,000t in June rose from 291,000t the previous month, provisional customs data showed.

The volume rose less than 1pc from year-earlier levels. But the increase was the first in a year.

Imports got a boost from the arrival of close to 30,000t of base oils from the US.

The volume was the highest in fourteen months.

A large portion of the volume consisted of arbitrage supplies.

The shipments lifted total imports from the US to more than 71,000t in the second quarter of the year.

The volume was up from less than 38,000t in each of the previous three quarters.

Imports of close to 12,000t from Thailand in June rose from less than 500 t/month in each of the previous seven months to the highest since late-2021.