India’s base oils supply rose to a ten-month high in March as firm domestic output added to higher-than-usual import volumes.Total base oils supply, or domestic output and imports combined, rose to more than 480,000 tonnes in March, government and customs data showed..The volume rose from close to 390,000 tonnes in February to the highest since May 2024.Supply got a boost from a recovery in output to 126,000 tonnes in March, from less than 100,000 tonnes the previous month.Lower output in February coincided with plant maintenance work that month.Higher output in March suggested plant maintenance that month was relatively light compared with February.The higher output preceded a heavier round of plant maintenance work starting in April.The pick-up in base oils supply in March coincided with and lagged a typical seasonal surge in base oils and lube demand at the end of India’s financial year.The large rise in supply helped to limit the size of the subsequent supply-shortfall.The shortfall of more than 150,000 tonnes in the first quarter of the year still contrasted with more balanced fundamentals the same time a year earlier.The larger shortfall cut buyers’ inventories and supported steady demand to replenish those stocks.India’s base oils imports showed signs of staying higher than usual in April, reflecting that firm buying interest.At the same time, unusually volatile crude oil prices in April and uncertainty about the impact of US tariffs on imports from India boosted the attraction for buyers to maintain lower inventories. India’s imported cargo base oils prices held increasingly firm relative to prices in Asia so far in the second quarter of the year.The firm prices pointed to ongoing buying interest in additional volumes, even with the market uncertainty and high import volumes in April.The buying interest could reflect requirements for more supplies from alternative sources to cover for plant maintenance work in India and in the Middle East during the second quarter of the year..India’s March lube demand rises.India’s March base oils imports rise.Asia’s February lube demand rises
India’s base oils supply rose to a ten-month high in March as firm domestic output added to higher-than-usual import volumes.Total base oils supply, or domestic output and imports combined, rose to more than 480,000 tonnes in March, government and customs data showed..The volume rose from close to 390,000 tonnes in February to the highest since May 2024.Supply got a boost from a recovery in output to 126,000 tonnes in March, from less than 100,000 tonnes the previous month.Lower output in February coincided with plant maintenance work that month.Higher output in March suggested plant maintenance that month was relatively light compared with February.The higher output preceded a heavier round of plant maintenance work starting in April.The pick-up in base oils supply in March coincided with and lagged a typical seasonal surge in base oils and lube demand at the end of India’s financial year.The large rise in supply helped to limit the size of the subsequent supply-shortfall.The shortfall of more than 150,000 tonnes in the first quarter of the year still contrasted with more balanced fundamentals the same time a year earlier.The larger shortfall cut buyers’ inventories and supported steady demand to replenish those stocks.India’s base oils imports showed signs of staying higher than usual in April, reflecting that firm buying interest.At the same time, unusually volatile crude oil prices in April and uncertainty about the impact of US tariffs on imports from India boosted the attraction for buyers to maintain lower inventories. India’s imported cargo base oils prices held increasingly firm relative to prices in Asia so far in the second quarter of the year.The firm prices pointed to ongoing buying interest in additional volumes, even with the market uncertainty and high import volumes in April.The buying interest could reflect requirements for more supplies from alternative sources to cover for plant maintenance work in India and in the Middle East during the second quarter of the year..India’s March lube demand rises.India’s March base oils imports rise.Asia’s February lube demand rises
