Base oils supply in the Asia-Pacific region stayed lower than usual in July, cushioning the impact of a seasonal slowdown in regional demand during the third quarter.
Base oils supply of less than 870,000t in July rose from around 842,000t the previous month.
The volume fell by 6pc and for the fifth time in six months from year-earlier levels.
Supply fell mostly because of lower base oils production in South Korea and Japan from year-earlier levels.
Including China, total supply of around 1.23mn t in July fell from more than 1.32mn t in June to a four-month low.
Supply of around 9.10mn t in the first seven months of this year was down from more than 9.30mn t during the same period last year.
Supply fell this year despite an expected pick-up in Chinese base oils demand following the scrapping of its zero-Covid policy at the end of last year.
