Taiwan’s March exports to China slip

Taiwan’s base oil exports to China fell in March as more supplies moved to other outlets instead.

Base oil exports to China fell back to 26,140t in March, down 28pc from 36,090t the previous month, government data showed.

The contraction was steeper than the 15pc fall in Taiwan’s total base oil exports in March.

The trend cut China’s share of Taiwan’s base oil exports to 65pc of the total, down from a 76pc share in February.

Exports to China slowed at a time of year when the country’s demand typically rises ahead of the spring oil-change season. But the country’s domestic base oil prices have risen much less than the surge in regional prices in recent weeks.

The trend has made increasingly unfeasible the arbitrage to move supplies to China. It has also incentivized term buyers in the country to redirect supplies of Taiwan origin to other markets instead.

Taiwan’s base oil exports to southeast Asia also fell in March to a four-month low of 7,310t. But exports to India recovered to a three-month high of 5,170t.