Asia’s base oils supply edged up in May even as regional refiners’ exports fell, pointing to moves to build stocks ahead of scheduled plant maintenance work.Base oils supply of less than 940,000t in May rose from close to 920,000t the previous month but remained well down from more than 1.10mn t in March.Supply of less than 1.90mn t in April and May combined was more than 90,000t lower than during the same period last year.Including China, supply of more than 1.32mn t in May rose from close to 1.28mn t the previous month and by 2pc from year-earlier levels.The more muted base oils supply in April and May coincided with plant maintenance work in the region during the second quarter of the year.The higher volumes in May suggested that supply remained sufficient to cover requirements even with the maintenance work.
