Singapore producer raises all its base oil prices

A Singapore-based base oil producer is raising its ex-tank Singapore prices for all its grades. The price increase is the fourth this year and the sixth in the last three months.

The producer is raising by $90/t its price for Group I SN 150 and by $170/t its price for SN 500. It is raising its price for bright stock by $200/t. The producer will raise its price for Group II N150 by $50/t and by $80/t its price for N500. The new prices are effective from 1 March.

Following the price increases, the producer's bright stock premium to SN 150 will rise to $600/t, the widest premium in over a decade. The producer's SN 500 premium to SN 150 will rise to $495/t, also the biggest in more than a decade.

Its Group II N150 premium to Group I SN 150 will fall to $65/t, the narrowest since September. Its Group II N500 discount to Group I SN 500 will widen to $235/t, the widest in more than a decade. The producer's Group II N500 premium to N150 will increase to $195/t, the largest since August 2017.

The unusually frequent and significant price adjustments reflect the protracted supply tightness that the base oil market has faced since the second half of last year.