EMEA Base Oil Price Report 14.12.21
Base oil prices around the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions are softer this week, as the new Omicron COVID-19 variant starts to impact on markets across the globe. Many countries are facing renewed restrictions on the movement of people and goods with some recommending only necessary travel and essential services and others going into or considering temporary lockdowns to stem the spread of the new variant.
Base oil demand is usually slower around this time of year, with many operations starting to run down towards the holiday period around Christmas and New Year when many blenders will either close or move to short-time working for two weeks into January 2022. The overall effect is that the markets are sluggish with many buyers sitting on the fence, waiting to see where prices are going, since crude and feedstock levels have also dropped from their recent peaks during November. The outlook is that base oil prices will continue to drift lower over the next few months, due to adequate supplies and availabilities of all grades, and weaker demand caused by the ongoing pandemic.