The UK’s base oils output rose to a six-month high in March, cushioning the impact of a pause in output in Italy and leaving Europe’s Group I supply relatively steady.The region’s total Group I supply still fell in the first three months of the year to the lowest level for the first quarter in at least seven years.The lower supply was sufficient to meet most regional requirements and countered the impact of seasonally slower demand during the winter months.Supply was sufficient because of a drop in shipments to markets outside Europe.The UK’s base oils output of close to 44,000 tonnes in March rose from 31,000 tonnes the previous month to the highest level since last September, government data showed.The high volume contrasted and partially balanced out a pause in base oils output in Italy in March.Combined with higher output in other markets like Spain and Poland, Europe’s total Group I supply edged up to more than 160,000 tonnes in March.The volume remained in a 158,000-167,000-tonne range that it held in in five of the last six months to March and left total supply at more than 520,000 tonnes in the first quarter of the year..The quarterly volume was down from close to 530,000 tonnes during the same period last year and from more than 585,000 tonnes during the first quarter of 2023.The lower volume cut the availability of surplus supplies, curbing the need to line up outlets in overseas markets. Group I exports to markets outside Europe duly fell to less than 200,000 tonnes in the first quarter of the year.The volume was down from close to 220,000 tonnes during the same period last year and from 290,000 tonnes during the first quarter of 2023.The lower supply cut the typical downward pressure that Europe Group I base oils export prices face in the first quarter of the year.It also forced buyers in overseas markets like West Africa and Middle East to seek supplies from other sources instead like the US.Europe’s Group I supply, less exports, came to around 327,000 tonnes in the first quarter of the year.The volume was up slightly from year-earlier levels, suggesting it was around the level that covered Europe’s Group I demand requirements..Netherlands’ March base oils output stays lower.Europe’s March Group III base oils supply rises
