South Korea’s base oils exports held firm in November for a second month, at a time of year when Asia’s lube demand faced a seasonal slowdown.Firm export volumes and lower demand raised the prospect of a rise in surplus supplies during the final months of the year.South Korea’s base oils exports of 383,000 tonnes in November slipped from 392,000 tonnes the previous month, government data showed.Exports remained well above shipment volumes of less than 240,000 tonnes in September and typical volumes of less than 350,000 tonnes/month in the past year.South Korea’s base oils exports bottomed out at a multi-year low in September even though plant maintenance work in the country peaked in the month of October.A round of stock-building magnified the drop in exports in September.The extra supplies then helped to boost shipments in October and November, cushioning the impact of the plant shutdown.Lower exports in September coincided with a seasonal rise in Asia’s lube demand at the end of the third quarter. Regional supply tightened sharply in response.South Korea’s higher exports in the fourth quarter coincided with a seasonal slowdown in lube demand, especially at year-end. The disconnect raised the prospect of a rise in Asia's surplus supply and the need to line up arbitrage shipments to more distant markets to curb the size of any supply-build.Asia’s Group II base oils prices were relatively steady in the fourth quarter of the year even amid signs of easing supply tightness.Group II prices in the US by contrast fell steeply from the end of the third quarter.The lower prices made increasingly unfeasible the arbitrage to move cargoes from Asia to outlets in the Americas.More of South Korea’s base oils exports instead stayed in the Asia-Pacific market. The move raised the prospect of a rise in supply and competition for regional outlets.South Korea’s base oils exports to southeast Asia came to 80,000 tonnes in November.The shipments rose from already-firm volumes of 77,000 tonnes in October to the second-highest level since the beginning of 2023.The rise in shipments contrasted with a slump in Taiwan’s base oils exports to southeast Asia in November as more cargoes moved instead to more distant outlets like the Middle East..Taiwan’s Nov base oils exports rise.China’s November base oils output falls.India’s November base oils imports rise
South Korea’s base oils exports held firm in November for a second month, at a time of year when Asia’s lube demand faced a seasonal slowdown.Firm export volumes and lower demand raised the prospect of a rise in surplus supplies during the final months of the year.South Korea’s base oils exports of 383,000 tonnes in November slipped from 392,000 tonnes the previous month, government data showed.Exports remained well above shipment volumes of less than 240,000 tonnes in September and typical volumes of less than 350,000 tonnes/month in the past year.South Korea’s base oils exports bottomed out at a multi-year low in September even though plant maintenance work in the country peaked in the month of October.A round of stock-building magnified the drop in exports in September.The extra supplies then helped to boost shipments in October and November, cushioning the impact of the plant shutdown.Lower exports in September coincided with a seasonal rise in Asia’s lube demand at the end of the third quarter. Regional supply tightened sharply in response.South Korea’s higher exports in the fourth quarter coincided with a seasonal slowdown in lube demand, especially at year-end. The disconnect raised the prospect of a rise in Asia's surplus supply and the need to line up arbitrage shipments to more distant markets to curb the size of any supply-build.Asia’s Group II base oils prices were relatively steady in the fourth quarter of the year even amid signs of easing supply tightness.Group II prices in the US by contrast fell steeply from the end of the third quarter.The lower prices made increasingly unfeasible the arbitrage to move cargoes from Asia to outlets in the Americas.More of South Korea’s base oils exports instead stayed in the Asia-Pacific market. The move raised the prospect of a rise in supply and competition for regional outlets.South Korea’s base oils exports to southeast Asia came to 80,000 tonnes in November.The shipments rose from already-firm volumes of 77,000 tonnes in October to the second-highest level since the beginning of 2023.The rise in shipments contrasted with a slump in Taiwan’s base oils exports to southeast Asia in November as more cargoes moved instead to more distant outlets like the Middle East..Taiwan’s Nov base oils exports rise.China’s November base oils output falls.India’s November base oils imports rise
