Spore’s base oil imports slip over past month

Singapore’s base oil imports have edged lower over the past month amid signs of a slowdown in shipments from Japan.

Base oil imports fell below 65,000t in the four weeks to 6 April, according to Enterprise Singapore. The volume remained well above monthly import levels of less than 50,000t in January and February.

The city-state’s base oil imports have got a boost in recent months from a pick-up in supplies from Japan and Mideast Gulf. These have helped to counter a sharp slowdown in shipments from Europe.

The flow of supplies from Europe to Singapore has remained low in recent weeks. But the volume of supplies from Japan has also begun to ease.

The drop in supplies has coincided with signs of a slowdown in base oil exports from Singapore in recent weeks.