South Korea’s SK Enmove, the world’s largest producer of Group III base oils, saw profit fall in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter as lower prices outweighed rising sales volumes.

Operating profit of 259.2bn South Korean won ($196mn) in the first three months of the year fell by 3pc from W268.4bn during the previous quarter.

Profit rose by 22pc from year-earlier levels.

Profit faced pressure from price-cuts in the US, where supply-demand fundamentals had been unusually strong throughout last year.

That dynamic changed in the first quarter of this year as demand slowed and supply improved.