Europe’s Group I base oils supply rose to a six-month high in October amid a pick-up in supplies from Italy and in imports from markets outside the region.Total supply of close to 175,000t in October rose from less than 170,000t the previous month, government data showed.Group I supply still fell by 4pc and for a sixth month from year-earlier levels, cutting total volumes to around 1.66mn t in the first ten months of the year.The volume fell by 6pc from more than 1.75mn t during the same period a year earlier, and from more than 2.20mn t during the same period in 2021.Supply fell because of a slump in imports from Russia as well as extended plant shutdowns in Italy in 2022 and 2023.The steady fall in availability, the shrinking number of sources, and increasingly competitive prices for premium-grade base oils also speeded up a slowdown in consumption of Group I base oils.The structural changes raised the prospect of complicating any pick-up in the region’s Group I base oils supplies. Any such trend would likey boost availability of supplies for export.The limited availability of surplus Group I supplies for export in second-half 2023 in turn pointed to sufficient structural demand to absorb the lower volumes.The region’s Group I supply rose in October as output in Italy rose to a six-month high.The UK’s base oils output fell to a nineteen-month low in October, countering most of the recovery in Italy’s supply..Italy’s October base oils supply rises.UK’s Oct base oils supply lags demand
Europe’s Group I base oils supply rose to a six-month high in October amid a pick-up in supplies from Italy and in imports from markets outside the region.Total supply of close to 175,000t in October rose from less than 170,000t the previous month, government data showed.Group I supply still fell by 4pc and for a sixth month from year-earlier levels, cutting total volumes to around 1.66mn t in the first ten months of the year.The volume fell by 6pc from more than 1.75mn t during the same period a year earlier, and from more than 2.20mn t during the same period in 2021.Supply fell because of a slump in imports from Russia as well as extended plant shutdowns in Italy in 2022 and 2023.The steady fall in availability, the shrinking number of sources, and increasingly competitive prices for premium-grade base oils also speeded up a slowdown in consumption of Group I base oils.The structural changes raised the prospect of complicating any pick-up in the region’s Group I base oils supplies. Any such trend would likey boost availability of supplies for export.The limited availability of surplus Group I supplies for export in second-half 2023 in turn pointed to sufficient structural demand to absorb the lower volumes.The region’s Group I supply rose in October as output in Italy rose to a six-month high.The UK’s base oils output fell to a nineteen-month low in October, countering most of the recovery in Italy’s supply..Italy’s October base oils supply rises.UK’s Oct base oils supply lags demand