South Korea’s base oils exports improved in March, tapping firm base oils prices and a seasonal rise in demand in Asia at the end of the first quarter.Exports held firm as some refiners’ higher base oils run-rates cushioned the impact of maintenance work at a Group III unit from mid-March.Those factors looked set to continue in the month of April, raising the prospect of an extension of steady-to-firm base oils exports through this month, especially for Group II base oils.Firm export volumes would coincide with a likely seasonal slowdown in regional demand at the start of the second quarter of the year.The dynamic could trigger a rise in surplus supplies, especially if exports hold firm from other key regional sources like Taiwan and Singapore.Exports from both of those markets showed signs of holding steady-to-firm so far this month.South Korea’s base oils exports of 375,700 tonnes in March rose from 357,400 tonnes the previous month, government data showed.The volume was up from average levels of 349,000 tonnes/month in 2023, when scheduled maintenance work triggered a slump in shipments in the second and third quarters of the year.Base oil exports of 58,700 tonnes to China in March remained low even as they rose from less than 50,000 tonnes during each of the previous two months.The shipments left exports of 158,000 tonnes to China in the first quarter of the year down from 210,000 tonnes during the same period a year earlier.The volume was the lowest for the first quarter of the year in more than a decade.The slowdown highlighted China’s growing self-sufficiency with its base oils supplies.The trend increased the importance for regional producers such as South Korea to develop and boost shipments to other markets instead. .Taiwan’s March base oils exports rise.Asia’s February base oils supply falls
South Korea’s base oils exports improved in March, tapping firm base oils prices and a seasonal rise in demand in Asia at the end of the first quarter.Exports held firm as some refiners’ higher base oils run-rates cushioned the impact of maintenance work at a Group III unit from mid-March.Those factors looked set to continue in the month of April, raising the prospect of an extension of steady-to-firm base oils exports through this month, especially for Group II base oils.Firm export volumes would coincide with a likely seasonal slowdown in regional demand at the start of the second quarter of the year.The dynamic could trigger a rise in surplus supplies, especially if exports hold firm from other key regional sources like Taiwan and Singapore.Exports from both of those markets showed signs of holding steady-to-firm so far this month.South Korea’s base oils exports of 375,700 tonnes in March rose from 357,400 tonnes the previous month, government data showed.The volume was up from average levels of 349,000 tonnes/month in 2023, when scheduled maintenance work triggered a slump in shipments in the second and third quarters of the year.Base oil exports of 58,700 tonnes to China in March remained low even as they rose from less than 50,000 tonnes during each of the previous two months.The shipments left exports of 158,000 tonnes to China in the first quarter of the year down from 210,000 tonnes during the same period a year earlier.The volume was the lowest for the first quarter of the year in more than a decade.The slowdown highlighted China’s growing self-sufficiency with its base oils supplies.The trend increased the importance for regional producers such as South Korea to develop and boost shipments to other markets instead. .Taiwan’s March base oils exports rise.Asia’s February base oils supply falls
