Turkey’s June Group I imports slip

Turkey’s Group I base oils imports fell in June to an eight-month low as a slump in shipments from Greece outweighed a surge in supplies from Russia.

Base oils imports of 22,560t in June fell from 26,440t the previous month to the lowest since last October, government data showed.

Imports still rose from year-earlier levels for a third month in four. The trend boosted total shipments to 154,480t in the first half of the year.

The volume was up 8pc from 142,750t during the same period last year and mostly balanced out the drop in Turkey’s Group I base oils production so far this year.

Base oils imports rose even as Turkey’s currency continued to depreciate throughout the year. Tight supplies in Europe and a surge in regional prices compounded the impact of the currency weakness.

The trend boosted the attraction of lower-price supplies from other markets instead of Europe.

That attraction included maintaining regular imports of supplies of Russian origin in the first five months of the year.

The move contrasted with a sharp slowdown in European base oils imports from Russia.

Turkey’s base oils imports from Russia then surged in June to more than 9,700t. The volume was the highest in more than six years.

The rise in shipments benefited Turkish buyers in view of the competitive price. It benefited the sellers in view of the more limited outlets for Russian supplies.

The rise in shipments from Russia coincided with a slump in Turkey’s base oils imports from Greece. The Mediterranean country is typically the largest source of Turkey’s overseas supplies.

Its imports from Greece fell back to less than 2,000t in June. The volume was the lowest in 11 months and down from typical levels of more than 10,000 t/month.

Imports fell even as Greece’s base oils exports held relatively steady in June.

A large cargo instead moved from Greece to the US in June for the second time in as many months. Before May, there had been no cargo shipments from Greece to the US in more than six years.