South Korea’s base oils exports to India and Middle East rose to a six-month high in February, enabling buyers to replenish depleted stocks in the UAE especially.Base oils exports to the Middle East rose to more than 30,000 tonnes in February, with most of the shipments bound for the UAE, government data showed.The volume rose from less than 10,000 tonnes during each of the previous two months to the highest since last August..The UAE provided an increasingly crucial outlet for surplus supplies from Asia-Pacific suppliers such as South Korea and Taiwan over the past year especially.The shipments in turn helped to balance out a slowdown in supplies to the UAE from other sources like Europe.The slowdown in South Korea’s base oils exports to the UAE late last year and early this year coincided with production issues and stock-building ahead of plant maintenance work in the northeast Asian country.The maintenance work began in late-February.The surge in South Korea’s exports to the UAE in February by contrast pointed to sufficient availability such that sellers began to eye the Middle East again as an outlet for a larger portion of the supplies.Such signs of healthy availability suggested that sellers were comfortable with stock levels even with the plant maintenance that was due to continue until around mid-April.South Korea’s base oils exports to India saw a similar rebound in February, following a more protracted slowdown in shipments.Exports of more than 94,000 tonnes to the country in February rose from less than 80,000 tonnes during each of the previous two months to the highest since last August.A pick-up in shipments from markets like Singapore, Taiwan and US enabled Indian buyers to cover for the slowdown in shipments from South Korea in the intervening months.The recovery in exports in February could curb requirements for additional supplies from those other markets.The shipments would likely reach India in late-March or early April, at a time of year when the country’s demand typically slows after a seasonal surge in consumption in the month of March..S Korea’s Feb base oils exports rebound.India’s February base oils imports fall
