Singapore’s base oils imports fell to a seventeen-month low in June amid a slump in shipments from the US and Europe.Total imports of 33,800 tonnes in June were the lowest since the beginning of January 2024, government data showed.The drop in shipments contrasted with typical import volumes of close to 70,000 tonnes/month in the first five months of the year.Those higher imports partly reflected an unusual surge in supplies from the US and Europe that began in the second half of last year.Imports from those two sources then almost ground to a halt in June..The slowdown partly reflected the impact of plant-maintenance work and a seasonal rise in demand in both markets during the second quarter of the year.The firmer fundamentals tightened supply for overseas outlets.The dynamic then began to reverse in July.The delivery of large shipments from the Netherlands and the US in recent weeks boosted Singapore’s base oils imports from both regions.Any extension of that recovery would follow the completion of plant-maintenance work in the US and Europe, as well as a seasonal slowdown in demand in those markets during the summer months.The weaker fundamentals boosted supply for overseas outlets.But any further extension of the recovery in flows to Singapore could be short-lived.New base oils production capacity is expected to start up in the island-state in the coming months.The subsequent rise in supplies is likely to curb southeast Asia’s demand for additional shipments from other regions.A drop in southeast Asia’s demand for additional supplies in the coming months would coincide with a likely rise in surplus volumes in the US and Europe.The dynamic would put pressure on those shipments to target other outlets instead..S Korea’s June base oils exports rise.Taiwan’s June base oils exports hold firm.India’s June base oils imports fall.Base Oil News stories and analyses also available on the ICIS platform
