Europe’s Group II base oils supply rose to a ten-month high in August amid a pick-up in imports and jump in the Netherlands’ output.Total supply, or imports and the Netherlands’ output combined, rose to more than 180,000 tonnes in August, government data showed..The volume rose from less than 150,000 tonnes in six of the previous seven months to the highest since October 2024.The rise in supply in August coincided with firm supply of Group III base oils and signs of healthy availability of Group I base oils..Europe’s Group II base oils prices began to rise sharply relative to Group I prices from the beginning of the second quarter of the year.They then extended that rise through the third quarter even with the pick-up in supplies in August.Group II prices also held firm relative to feedstock prices even at a time of year when Europe’s base oils and lube demand faced a seasonal slowdown.The firmer prices pointed to stronger demand even with the seasonal slowdown in consumption.Stronger demand could have reflected a rising market share for Group II base oils in place of Group I supplies.The ongoing strength of Europe’s Group II prices relative to Group I base oils and prices in other regions pointed to an extension of that dynamic into the fourth quarter of the year.Europe’s Group II supply could also have been affected by a jump in shipments to Singapore and the Netherlands’ unusually large consumption in August.Most of the consumption was categorized as “transformation in oil products.”Excluding that volume, Europe’s Group II base oils supply still rose in August from the previous month but remained lower than in May and June..Europe’s Aug Group III supply holds firm.Europe's August base oils exports to Africa fall
