Japan’s base oils exports edged down to an eleven-month low in November, adding to a region-wide slowdown in shipments during the final months of the year.The lower export volumes from Japan, as well as other key suppliers like South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia, curbed the size of a typical supply-build at the end of the year.Regional base oils prices remained under pressure during the final weeks of last year, partly because of a steady fall in crude oil and diesel prices until mid-December.But prices strengthened relative to crude and diesel during that period.The smaller surplus at the start of this year gave base oils producers more leverage to maintain the prices that they were targeting.An expected pick-up in Chinese demand in the coming months added to that leverage.Japan’s base oils exports of 65,250 kilolitres (58,000t) in November fell from 83,470kl the previous month to the lowest since December 2021, government data showed..The drop in shipments for a fourth month in five from year-earlier levels cut total exports to 931,810kl in the first eleven months of the year.The volume was still up 6pc from 878,700kl during the same period last year and the highest in four years.A large portion of the extra shipments moved to southeast Asia during the year, especially to Singapore.That trend showed signs of changing.Exports of less than 13,000kl to the city-state in November fell from almost 29,000kl the previous month to the lowest since October 2021. Exports to Singapore had averaged more than 27,000 kl/month since then.The large flow of supplies throughout the year cushioned the impact of a slump in shipments from Europe to Singapore.Any extension of the slowdown in supplies from Japan to Singapore would leave buyers with a dilemma amid limited alternative sources of Group I base oils in the Asia-Pacific region..Spore’s November base oils imports rise
Japan’s base oils exports edged down to an eleven-month low in November, adding to a region-wide slowdown in shipments during the final months of the year.The lower export volumes from Japan, as well as other key suppliers like South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia, curbed the size of a typical supply-build at the end of the year.Regional base oils prices remained under pressure during the final weeks of last year, partly because of a steady fall in crude oil and diesel prices until mid-December.But prices strengthened relative to crude and diesel during that period.The smaller surplus at the start of this year gave base oils producers more leverage to maintain the prices that they were targeting.An expected pick-up in Chinese demand in the coming months added to that leverage.Japan’s base oils exports of 65,250 kilolitres (58,000t) in November fell from 83,470kl the previous month to the lowest since December 2021, government data showed..The drop in shipments for a fourth month in five from year-earlier levels cut total exports to 931,810kl in the first eleven months of the year.The volume was still up 6pc from 878,700kl during the same period last year and the highest in four years.A large portion of the extra shipments moved to southeast Asia during the year, especially to Singapore.That trend showed signs of changing.Exports of less than 13,000kl to the city-state in November fell from almost 29,000kl the previous month to the lowest since October 2021. Exports to Singapore had averaged more than 27,000 kl/month since then.The large flow of supplies throughout the year cushioned the impact of a slump in shipments from Europe to Singapore.Any extension of the slowdown in supplies from Japan to Singapore would leave buyers with a dilemma amid limited alternative sources of Group I base oils in the Asia-Pacific region..Spore’s November base oils imports rise
