Italy’s base oils supply rose to a thirty-month high in October on the back of a rebound in domestic production and imports.Base oils output recovered to close to 81,000t in October, up from around 57,000t the previous month and the highest since April, government data showed.Output fell in in the intervening months because of extended plant maintenance work.The drop in output compounded Europe’s fall in Group I base oils supply in the first nine months of last year.The recovery in base oils output in October helped to reverse that trend and coincided with a seasonal slowdown in regional demand at year-end.Relatively firm base oils prices during the fourth quarter of last year and the relative lack of arbitrage shipments from Europe to markets like West Africa suggested that surplus supply remained limited even with the recovery in output in Italy.The firmer prices and more limited surplus supply contrasted with end-2022 when a wave of shipments from Italy moved to markets like Nigeria and Mideast Gulf.Those shipments extended into early 2023, suggesting a repeat of that trend remained feasible during the first few months of this year.Italy’s base oils stocks fell in October as firm consumption and exports countered the rise in output and imports.The firmer demand fundamentals slowed the build-up of any surplus supplies..Italy’s Sept base oils output rises
