US Base Oil Market Upturn in August 2023, Europe and China Exhibit Diverse Trends

The Base Oil market has been fluctuating in the narrow end during August 2023 amidst some Base Oil grades witnessing stability while other groups have started to showcase an uptrend across the globe. The US Base Oil market crept up as the manufacturers decided to raise their offers, resulting in higher consumer prices. However, the German and the Chinese market maintained overall stability during the third week of August 2023. 

The US Base Oil market has registered a weekly uptrend of +1.1% during this week to settle at 1390 and 1710 USD/tonne for Group II H 100 FOB and Group II H 600 FOB Texas (USA), respectively, and under the influence of previously communicated prices by ExxonMobil, other members including Motiva, Chevron, Petro-Canada, and many others increased their posted prices further to support the market values. Moreover, tightness in the Base Oil supplies flued up the initiative the market players took. Additionally, increased production costs further resulted in the surged values of Base Oil during this timeframe in the US market.

During this week, the prices of Base Oil in Europe remained unchanged as no major development in the market fundamentals were observed. Some traders within the domestic market have received few inquiries, while overseas players hurt the chances of recovery in the European Group I export. Overall, the supply chain activities in the region were seamless, with no major supply-related concerns detected. Hence, consumption has not changed under prevailing market sentiments and remained narrow enough to support this price trajectory. Therefore, prices have been stable during this timeline to settle at 1375 USD/ tonne Base Oil II H 500 FD Hamburg (Germany).

Surprisingly, this week, usually more than others, a contrasting trend has been observed in the Chinese Base Oil market. Some grades, including Base Oil II H 500, edged up, while others remained unchanged. The constrained availability of a few Base Oil grades contributed to the upward price adjustments under the influence of feedstock crude oil’s availability, while the unchanged supply dynamics of a few Base Oil grades in China maintained overall stability during the third week of August.

As per ChemAnalyst, a marginal surge in the European and Chinese Base Oil prices is anticipated by market players in the upcoming weeks amid an increase in production costs, while the US players are expected to follow the uptrend in the near under the influence of previous market sentiments.