The delivery of premium-grade base oils from the Middle East to key global outlets slipped in May mostly because of a sharp drop in shipments from Qatar.The US, Europe and Asia took delivery of 230,000 tonnes of premium-grade base oils in May from the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar combined.The volume fell from more than 260,000 tonnes in April amid a drop in supplies from Qatar especially.The slowdown added to a slump in imports from Qatar to less than 760,000 tonnes in the first five months of the year, down 11% from more than 850,000 tonnes during the same period last year.The fall in shipments from Qatar contrasted with steadier flows from Bahrain and the UAE.Imports from those two markets came to around 75,000 tonnes in May and to more than 352,000 tonnes in the first five months of the year.The volume was up from close to 348,000 tonnes during the same five-month period last year.The firm flows from those two markets pointed to steady base oils output even amid increasingly squeezed Group III base oils margins in Europe and the US.Steady base oils output suggested that base oils margins remained at levels that continued to incentivize refiners to maintain production levels.Shipments showed signs of more adjustment to changes in prices between the different regions.US base oils imports from Bahrain and UAE combined lagged Europe’s imports from those two markets in May for the first time this year.The break in the trend followed a sharp slide in US Group III base oils prices from the start of the second quarter of the year to a steep discount to prices in Europe..US' May base oils imports fall.Europe’s May Group III base oils supply edges down
The delivery of premium-grade base oils from the Middle East to key global outlets slipped in May mostly because of a sharp drop in shipments from Qatar.The US, Europe and Asia took delivery of 230,000 tonnes of premium-grade base oils in May from the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar combined.The volume fell from more than 260,000 tonnes in April amid a drop in supplies from Qatar especially.The slowdown added to a slump in imports from Qatar to less than 760,000 tonnes in the first five months of the year, down 11% from more than 850,000 tonnes during the same period last year.The fall in shipments from Qatar contrasted with steadier flows from Bahrain and the UAE.Imports from those two markets came to around 75,000 tonnes in May and to more than 352,000 tonnes in the first five months of the year.The volume was up from close to 348,000 tonnes during the same five-month period last year.The firm flows from those two markets pointed to steady base oils output even amid increasingly squeezed Group III base oils margins in Europe and the US.Steady base oils output suggested that base oils margins remained at levels that continued to incentivize refiners to maintain production levels.Shipments showed signs of more adjustment to changes in prices between the different regions.US base oils imports from Bahrain and UAE combined lagged Europe’s imports from those two markets in May for the first time this year.The break in the trend followed a sharp slide in US Group III base oils prices from the start of the second quarter of the year to a steep discount to prices in Europe..US' May base oils imports fall.Europe’s May Group III base oils supply edges down
