Supply holds firm on pick-up in flows from Middle East
Supply in Q3 rises to highest since second-half 2022
Europe Group III price-differentials hold firm even with rise in supply
Europe’s Group III base oils supply held firm in September amid strong inflows from the Middle East, high imports from Asia and steady shipments from Spain.
Total supply held at close to 150,000 tonnes in September, government and shipping data showed.
The level was similar to the previous month and held close to the highest since November 2024.
The sustained inflows lifted Europe’s total Group III supply to more than 440,000 tonnes in the third quarter of the year.
The volume rose for a third straight quarter from the previous three months to the highest since second-half 2022.
The pick-up in supply did little to reverse Europe’s increasingly firm Group III base oils prices.
Prices extended their rise versus Group I and Group II prices and versus Group III prices in other regions through the third and fourth quarters of the year.
The trend suggested that demand was a key factor supporting the sustained price-strength.
Europe’s Group III supply showed signs of easing in October amid a slowdown in the arrival of cargoes from Bahrain and UAE and a dip in exports from Spain.
Supply then showed signs of recovering in November as a wave of shipments from the Middle East reached Europe, alongside the arrival of cargoes from more distant sources like Indonesia.
Flows from the southeast Asian country could ease in the coming months following production disruptions after a fire at Pertamina’s Dumai refinery in early October.
