India’s base oils output fell to a four-month low in February, leaving blenders more reliant on supplies from overseas markets to cover their requirements.Domestic base oils output was likely to stay lower this month and during the second quarter of the year because of scheduled plant maintenance work.The dynamic raised the prospect of extending blenders’ reliance on larger volumes of overseas supplies and keeping pressure on their stock levels.India’s base oils output of 99,000 tonnes in February fell from more than 120,000 tonnes in each of the previous three months, government data showed..The drop in output coincided with maintenance work at several plants in India.Some of the maintenance work extended through the month of March. Additional maintenance work was scheduled in April and May.The extended round of maintenance work increased blenders’ reliance on imports to cover more of their requirements.India’s base oils imports instead fell in February, cutting the country’s total supply to a six-month low of less than 400,000 tonnes.Imports could stay lower as plant maintenance in South Korea and a drop in exports from Taiwan in March trim supply in the Asia-Pacific market.India’s demand, or domestic consumption and base oils exports combined, also fell in February, dipping to a three-month low of close to 360,000 tonnes.The move cut India’s net supply to a six-month low, squeezing blenders’ inventories ahead of a typical surge in lube consumption in the month of March.The supply-squeeze likely had a large impact on India’s supply of very-light grade base oils after imports of the product fell to an eighteen-month low in February.Lube demand typically slows at the start of the second quarter of the year after peaking in the month of March.Any such slowdown would curb buyers’ urgency to replenish their stocks.At the same time, the seasonal rise in demand in March likely left those stocks lower than usual.Ongoing and upcoming plant maintenance work this month and in the second quarter of the year curbed the volume of surplus supplies from domestic refiners.The dynamic raised the prospect of supporting firm demand for overseas supplies over the coming months..India’s February lube demand rises.India’s February base oils imports fall.S Korea’s Feb exports to India/UAE rise
