EMEA Base Oil Price Report 18/05/21
Remarkably, the base oil supply scene tightened further the past two weeks as availability in all product groups diminished. API Group I supplies remain exceptionally elusive as maintenance turnarounds take their toll and producers advertise few spot availabilities.
Group II is also becoming scarce, some buyers being unable to procure quantities necessary to produce contracted volumes of finished lubricants. Some large end-users are in turn struggling to maintain their own operations and output of machinery and goods. Group III supplies are remote, with sellers offering to supply only regular customers – in many cases with lags of up to three months. New buyers looking for material in any of the base oil groups are struggling to find availabilities, and the situation is preventing any flexibility in base oil purchasing. These conditions have caused prices to remain firm. Many sellers are raising prices on a routine basis, some adopting weekly reviews that consistently result in the same action.