Singapore's June base oil imports fall

Singapore’s base oils imports fell to a four-month low in June amid an ongoing pause in shipments from Europe.

Base oils imports of 60,540t in June fell from 71,490t the previous month, government data showed.

Imports of 374,830t in the first half of the year were down 33pc form 557,730t during the same period last year.

Base oils imports slumped from year-earlier levels when regional supply was unusually tight.

A wave of overseas shipments helped to ease that tightness. The shipments included a large volume of supplies from Europe.

The roles have reversed this year.

Supply-demand fundamentals in Asia-Pacific are more balanced. Supply fundamentals in Europe have been unexpectedly tight, especially for Group I base oils.

Base oil prices in Asia-Pacific and Europe reflected that dynamic. European prices have been at levels that made feasible the arbitrage to move shipments to the region from Asia and that deterred flows to Asia.

The sharp slowdown in shipments from Europe to Singapore reflected that change.

Singapore’s base oil imports from Europe held below 100t in June for a second month.

The volume was down from average levels of more than 9,000 t/month in the first four months of the year and from more than 30,000 t/month in 2021.

The drop in base oil shipments from Europe had little impact on Asia-Pacific supply or prices.

European base oil prices still surged in first-half 2022 because of tight supply. But the lack of demand from Asia-Pacific limited the call on supplies from Europe to just markets closer to that region.