China’s base oils output fell in April from the previous month, mostly because of scheduled plant maintenance work.The country’s total paraffinic base oils output of close to 440,000 tonnes in April fell from more than 460,000 tonnes the previous month, OilChem China data showed.Group II base oils output fell by 3% in April from the previous month at a time of year when China’s lube demand typically gets a seasonal boost.The country’s domestic Group II base oils prices continued to weaken versus FOB NE Asia cargo prices in April even with the drop in domestic supply and seasonal pick-up in demand.The price weakness extended into the start of this month.The price weakness suggested that domestic supply remained sufficient.The lack of requirements for additional supplies from overseas markets in turn pointed to a more muted pick-up in demand.The country’s domestic Group I base oils prices by contrast strengthened relative to domestic Group II prices and relative to FOB Asia cargo prices in April.The firmer prices coincided with tighter base oils availability because of the shutdown of a key Group I base oils unit in China for maintenance work.The country’s Group I base oils output fell by 15% in April from the previous month to an eight-month low.The impact was still relatively muted.The premium of domestic Group I brightstock prices over FOB Asia cargo prices rose to the highest in more than two years.The premium of Group I light-viscosity and heavy-viscosity grades over FOB Asia prices remained well below year-earlier levels even as they trended higher since the start of the year.The price trends pointed to tighter but still-sufficient supply of light and heavier-viscosity grades to cover demand.China’s Group III base oils output rose to a six-month high in April. They still accounted for little more than 5% of the country’s total base oils output..China’s March base oils imports rise
China’s base oils output fell in April from the previous month, mostly because of scheduled plant maintenance work.The country’s total paraffinic base oils output of close to 440,000 tonnes in April fell from more than 460,000 tonnes the previous month, OilChem China data showed.Group II base oils output fell by 3% in April from the previous month at a time of year when China’s lube demand typically gets a seasonal boost.The country’s domestic Group II base oils prices continued to weaken versus FOB NE Asia cargo prices in April even with the drop in domestic supply and seasonal pick-up in demand.The price weakness extended into the start of this month.The price weakness suggested that domestic supply remained sufficient.The lack of requirements for additional supplies from overseas markets in turn pointed to a more muted pick-up in demand.The country’s domestic Group I base oils prices by contrast strengthened relative to domestic Group II prices and relative to FOB Asia cargo prices in April.The firmer prices coincided with tighter base oils availability because of the shutdown of a key Group I base oils unit in China for maintenance work.The country’s Group I base oils output fell by 15% in April from the previous month to an eight-month low.The impact was still relatively muted.The premium of domestic Group I brightstock prices over FOB Asia cargo prices rose to the highest in more than two years.The premium of Group I light-viscosity and heavy-viscosity grades over FOB Asia prices remained well below year-earlier levels even as they trended higher since the start of the year.The price trends pointed to tighter but still-sufficient supply of light and heavier-viscosity grades to cover demand.China’s Group III base oils output rose to a six-month high in April. They still accounted for little more than 5% of the country’s total base oils output..China’s March base oils imports rise
