Singapore’s base oils imports rose to a one-year high in August amid the simultaneous arrival of a wave of shipments from less regular sources.The pick-up in shipments further boosted southeast Asia’s base oils supply and helped ease the region’s tight availability of Group I base oils.Total imports of 68,600 tonnes in August rose from almost 60,000 tonnes the previous month, government data showed.The island-state’s imports fell by 14% from August 2023. They were also the highest since that month.The drop in imports in most of the intervening months since then mostly reflected a slump in shipments from Japan.Shipments fell following the closure of a Group I base oils unit in Japan in the fourth quarter of last year.Singapore’s imports from Japan likely consisted of Group I base oils, leaving the city-state with increasingly tight availability of the product.A pick-up in shipments from Italy to Singapore since late last year partially cushioned the impact. But the volume was much smaller than the drop in supplies from Japan.Singapore took delivery of more than 30,000 tonnes of base oils from Russia so far this year, including a large shipment in August. But the volumes were similar to year-earlier levels.Singapore’s imports from Saudi Arabia also rose strongly since mid-year.Shipments of more than 14,000 tonnes from the country in the three months to August were up from less than 2,500 tonnes during the same period last year.Singapore also continued to take delivery of unusually large shipments from the US in August.Total imports of almost 60,000 tonnes from the US in the first eight months of the year were up from less than 5,000 tonnes during the same period last year.A large portion of the supplies likely consisted of Group II base oils rather than Group I base oils.The shipments duly boosted the southeast Asia market’s supply of premium-grade base oils in a region that was targeting overseas markets to clear its own surplus of the grade in recent months.The shipments also tightened the US market’s supply of premium-grade base oils in recent months, at a time when availability in that market was tighter and prices unusually high..China’s August base oils imports rise.S Korea’s August base oils exports rise
Singapore’s base oils imports rose to a one-year high in August amid the simultaneous arrival of a wave of shipments from less regular sources.The pick-up in shipments further boosted southeast Asia’s base oils supply and helped ease the region’s tight availability of Group I base oils.Total imports of 68,600 tonnes in August rose from almost 60,000 tonnes the previous month, government data showed.The island-state’s imports fell by 14% from August 2023. They were also the highest since that month.The drop in imports in most of the intervening months since then mostly reflected a slump in shipments from Japan.Shipments fell following the closure of a Group I base oils unit in Japan in the fourth quarter of last year.Singapore’s imports from Japan likely consisted of Group I base oils, leaving the city-state with increasingly tight availability of the product.A pick-up in shipments from Italy to Singapore since late last year partially cushioned the impact. But the volume was much smaller than the drop in supplies from Japan.Singapore took delivery of more than 30,000 tonnes of base oils from Russia so far this year, including a large shipment in August. But the volumes were similar to year-earlier levels.Singapore’s imports from Saudi Arabia also rose strongly since mid-year.Shipments of more than 14,000 tonnes from the country in the three months to August were up from less than 2,500 tonnes during the same period last year.Singapore also continued to take delivery of unusually large shipments from the US in August.Total imports of almost 60,000 tonnes from the US in the first eight months of the year were up from less than 5,000 tonnes during the same period last year.A large portion of the supplies likely consisted of Group II base oils rather than Group I base oils.The shipments duly boosted the southeast Asia market’s supply of premium-grade base oils in a region that was targeting overseas markets to clear its own surplus of the grade in recent months.The shipments also tightened the US market’s supply of premium-grade base oils in recent months, at a time when availability in that market was tighter and prices unusually high..China’s August base oils imports rise.S Korea’s August base oils exports rise
