Europe’s Group I base oils supply rebounded in December from a multi-year low the previous month.The recovery in supply coincided with a seasonal slowdown in demand.The disconnect between supply and demand left an overhang of surplus volumes that put pressure on the region’s base oil prices at the start of this year.Lower supply during the fourth quarter of last year limited the size of the supply overhang.Supply is set to fall further in the coming months following the planned closure of a Group I plant in Italy.Group I supply of more than 180,000t in December rose from less than 120,000t the previous month, government data showed.Supply fell to a multi-year low in November because of a slump in output in Italy and UK. A drop in imports from markets like Egypt compounded the fall.Supply rebounded in December amid a recovery in output in Italy and UK and higher volumes from Spain.Even with the recovery in output, the region’s Group I supply still fell to less than 490,000t in the fourth quarter of the year.The volume was down from more than 520,000t during the same period a year earlier and from more than 580,000t during the same period during the fourth quarter of 2021.Europe’s falling lube demand partially countered the impact of the sustained drop in supply.Blenders also increasingly covered more of their requirements with rising supplies of Group II and Group III base oils..Europe’s December Group II supply falls.Europe’s Dec Group III supply rises
Europe’s Group I base oils supply rebounded in December from a multi-year low the previous month.The recovery in supply coincided with a seasonal slowdown in demand.The disconnect between supply and demand left an overhang of surplus volumes that put pressure on the region’s base oil prices at the start of this year.Lower supply during the fourth quarter of last year limited the size of the supply overhang.Supply is set to fall further in the coming months following the planned closure of a Group I plant in Italy.Group I supply of more than 180,000t in December rose from less than 120,000t the previous month, government data showed.Supply fell to a multi-year low in November because of a slump in output in Italy and UK. A drop in imports from markets like Egypt compounded the fall.Supply rebounded in December amid a recovery in output in Italy and UK and higher volumes from Spain.Even with the recovery in output, the region’s Group I supply still fell to less than 490,000t in the fourth quarter of the year.The volume was down from more than 520,000t during the same period a year earlier and from more than 580,000t during the same period during the fourth quarter of 2021.Europe’s falling lube demand partially countered the impact of the sustained drop in supply.Blenders also increasingly covered more of their requirements with rising supplies of Group II and Group III base oils..Europe’s December Group II supply falls.Europe’s Dec Group III supply rises
