India’s base oils supply rose to a five-month high in April as a rebound in imports outweighed a drop in the country’s base oils production.Total supply, or domestic output and imports combined, rose to almost 450,000 tonnes in April, government and customs data showed.The volume rose from less than 400,000 tonnes the previous month to the highest since last November.Supply rose as higher imports countered a fall in India’s base oils output to 100,000 tonnes in April. The volume was the second lowest in seven months.The rise in supply contrasted with a drop in India’s base oils and lube demand, or domestic consumption and exports combined, to less than 395,000 tonnes in April.Demand fell from more than 450,000 tonnes in March, when domestic consumption got a seasonal boost before the end of India’s fiscal year.With supply outpacing demand, India’s net supply of 56,000 tonnes in April rebounded from a 58,000-tonne shortfall the previous month.The country’s surplus supply could get a further boost in May amid signs that higher-than-usual imports extended through the month.The pick-up in surplus supply during the second quarter of the year replenished blenders’ stocks ahead of the monsoon season, which usually starts from early June.It also left blenders with a larger supply buffer ahead of the planned 45-day shutdown of a base oils plant in the country from mid-June.An increasingly narrow gap between CFR India Group II base oils prices and FOB NE Asia cargo prices in recent weeks suggested that buyers were comfortable with their existing stocks.The planned start-up of new base oils production capacity in India during the third quarter of the year added to the attraction for blenders to limit the size of their inventories..India’s April base oils imports rise.India’s April lube demand mixed
India’s base oils supply rose to a five-month high in April as a rebound in imports outweighed a drop in the country’s base oils production.Total supply, or domestic output and imports combined, rose to almost 450,000 tonnes in April, government and customs data showed.The volume rose from less than 400,000 tonnes the previous month to the highest since last November.Supply rose as higher imports countered a fall in India’s base oils output to 100,000 tonnes in April. The volume was the second lowest in seven months.The rise in supply contrasted with a drop in India’s base oils and lube demand, or domestic consumption and exports combined, to less than 395,000 tonnes in April.Demand fell from more than 450,000 tonnes in March, when domestic consumption got a seasonal boost before the end of India’s fiscal year.With supply outpacing demand, India’s net supply of 56,000 tonnes in April rebounded from a 58,000-tonne shortfall the previous month.The country’s surplus supply could get a further boost in May amid signs that higher-than-usual imports extended through the month.The pick-up in surplus supply during the second quarter of the year replenished blenders’ stocks ahead of the monsoon season, which usually starts from early June.It also left blenders with a larger supply buffer ahead of the planned 45-day shutdown of a base oils plant in the country from mid-June.An increasingly narrow gap between CFR India Group II base oils prices and FOB NE Asia cargo prices in recent weeks suggested that buyers were comfortable with their existing stocks.The planned start-up of new base oils production capacity in India during the third quarter of the year added to the attraction for blenders to limit the size of their inventories..India’s April base oils imports rise.India’s April lube demand mixed
