Singapore’s base oils exports rose to an eight-month high in March, cushioning the impact of plant maintenance in markets like China and India.Exports got a further boost from a sustained rise in re-exports of shipments that originated from other markets.The dynamic reflected an unusual surge in Singapore’s base oils imports from Europe and the US in March and throughout the first quarter of the year.Re-exports and imports climbed during the first quarter even as Singapore’s own base oils exports also rose strongly.The dynamic suggested the pick-up in imports and re-exports was to add to Singapore’s already-high supply, rather than in response to other issues like plant maintenance work.The supplementary supplies from other markets preceded an expected rise in Singapore’s own base oils output and exports following the start-up of new production capacity later this year.The island-state’s total base oils exports of 196,000 tonnes in March rose to the highest since last July, government data showed.A surge in exports in July 2024 sat between lower-than-usual shipments volumes in June 2024 and August 2024.The rise in exports in March followed already-high volumes of close to 183,000 tonnes in February and lifted total shipments to a two-year high of close to 530,000 tonnes in the first quarter of the year..The sustained rise in exports supported higher-than-usual shipments to China and India especially.Both those markets faced a heavy round of plant maintenance in the first and second quarters of the year, as well as a seasonal rise in demand at the end of the first quarter.India was the destination for the largest volume of re-exported base oils from Singapore in the first quarter, with Indonesia the second largest.The re-exports likely included volumes from Europe and the US, after Singapore’s imports from those two markets rose to more than 55,000 tonnes in March.The volume accounted for more than 70% of Singapore's imports in March and was the highest since mid-2021..China’s March base oils demand rises.India’s March base oils imports rise.S Korea’s March base oils exports fall
