Exports stay lower for second month
Slowdown cuts supply to northwest Europe and India
Slowdown contrasts with recovery in shipments from Middle East
Spain’s premium-grade base oils exports stayed below normal levels in November for a second month, tightening supply across Europe.
Total shipments from the port of Cartagena held at less than 25,000 tonnes, repeating October’s low, port data showed.
The October volume was the lowest since June, when refinery production issues disrupted supply.
The slowdown in the fourth quarter kept shipments lower than usual to northwest Europe and other outlets like India.
The drop in flows contrasted with a recovery in Group III base oils shipments from the Middle East to Europe in recent months.
The dynamic pointed to improving availability of Group III supplies without the full set of OEM approvals, and tighter availability of supplies with the full set of approvals.
The diverging trends pointed to firmer prices for fully-approved supplies.
The premium between Europe’s high-end and low-end Group III prices instead narrowed further.
The price-dynamic pointed to tighter fundamentals for supplies without the full set of approvals, even with the recovery in shipments from the Middle East.
Such a scenario could signal that blenders are using a larger share of the lower-cost supplies in their lubricants formulations.
