Global base oils supply stayed unusually firm in April as rising output in the Americas and Europe countered a dip in production in Asia.Base oils supply of close to 2.10mn t in April fell from a nineteen-month high of more than 2.20mn t in March and from 2.12mn t the same month a year earlier.Total supply of around 8.20mn t in the first four months of the year was down slightly from close to 8.30mn t during the same period last year.Global base oils prices surged in first-half 2022 because of concern about tight supply. Actual supply for that four-month period was the highest in at least four years.Global base oils prices strengthened relative to crude and diesel in first-half 2023, but much less than last year amid confidence that supply was plentiful.The different price response partly reflected the tighter supply in Europe in early 2022 and its more plentiful availability this year.Steady supply also contrasted with weaker lube demand in most markets, especially Europe.The volume was derived by combining supplies in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. It excluded China and Group III producers in the Mideast Gulf.Including those markets, base oils supply of around 10.40mn t in the first four months of the year was down from close to 10.90mn t during the same period last year. .Asia’s May base oils supply edges up
