Turkey’s Grp I imports from Russia get more competitive

The cost of Turkey’s Group I base oils imports from Russia flipped to a discount to supplies from Greece for the first time in four months, adding to the attraction of cutting supplies from Europe.

The average cost of Group I shipments of Russian origin fell to less than $930/t in August, from more than $960/t the previous month.

The average cost of cargoes from Greece edged down to less than $940/t in August, from less than $945/t in July.

The average cost of cargoes from Italy rose to close to $1,080/t in August, from more than $1,060/t the previous month.

The diverging price trends between Russia and Italy especially reflected the different supply fundamentals in those markets.

The trend left the cost of supplies from Russia at a discount of more than $150/t to supplies from Italy in August. The discount was the widest since January.

The cost of Russian supplies flipped to a $10/t discount to supplies from Greece in August. They had been at a premium to supplies from Greece in each of the previous three months.