South Korea’s base oils exports stayed higher in January as a rebound in shipments to southeast Asia countered a slowdown in flows to China.South Korea’s base oils exports held firm in January even with a drop in base oils output the previous month and an extension of some refinery run-cuts into the first few months of this year.The high exports and lower output raised the prospect of trimming the country's volume of surplus supplies.Total shipments of 376,500t in January edged down from 381,600t the previous month, government data showed.The volume rose for the third time in four months from year-earlier levels and held well above average levels of less than 320,000 t/month in the second and third quarters of last year.The drop in exports included a sharp fall in shipments to China.The slowdown coincided with a rise in China’s domestic base oils output to a two-year high in January, as well as a pick-up in shipments from Taiwan.China’s rising supply boosted the attraction of moving more shipments from South Korea to southeast Asia, where lube consumption continued to grow during the final months of last year.The region’s growing demand and lack of new base oils production capacity contrasted with rising base oils output in China in recent years, and in India from this year.Those dynamics increased the importance for refiners in South Korea and Singapore to target southeast Asia with more supplies.South Korea’s exports of more than 78,000t to the region in January rose from around 60,000t in each of the previous three months to the highest since February 2023..S Korea’s Dec base oils output falls.Asia’s December lube demand rises
