Taiwan’s April base oils exports fall

Taiwan’s base oils exports fell to a four-month low in April, coinciding with a slowdown in regional lube consumption and signs of a still-muted recovery in demand from China.

Base oils exports of 32,120t in April fell from more than 66,000t the previous month to the lowest level this year.

The volume was also down from average levels of more than 44,000 t/month in the first four months of the year, government data showed.

Supplies of light and heavy-grade Group II base oils accounted for a similar share of the volume.

The trend reflected a sharp fall in shipments of light-grade base oils especially compared with March.