Prices continued falling in the U.S. base oil market, as Phillips 66, Chevron, Calumet, and SK lowered postings for several products only days after Motiva revised its pricing.
Phillips 66 decreased the price of its API Group II Pure Performance 70N and 80N cuts by 15 cents per gallon, its 110N oil by 10 cents/gal, and its 225N by 15 cents/gal, with an effective date of Sep. 14. The posted price of the producer’s 600N grade was not revised.
Within the Group II+/III categories, Phillips 66 also trimmed the postings of its Ultra-S 2, 3, 4 and 8 cuts by 20 cents/gal on the same date.
Also in the Group II+/III category, SK will be reducing prices of all of its base oil cuts by 20 cents/gal on Sep. 16.
Chevron communicated that it would be decreasing the price of its Group II 100R oil by 10 cents/gal, and its 220R cut 15 cents/gal as of Sep. 16, “to reflect current supply/demand balance and market conditions,” a company source explained. As was the case with Phillips 66, no changes applied to the heavy-viscosity 600R grade.
Calumet will reduce pricing on its Group II oils as of Sep. 17.The producer’s light-vis grades up to and including the 150N cut will drop 10 cents/gal across the board, while the 325N grade will be reduced 15 cents/gal. Given differing contract terms and conditions, select accounts may see different reductions applied to the pricing of the 325 cut.
Calumet has not communicated any decreases for its Group I cuts, and no other price revisions had surfaced in that segment at the time of writing.
Motiva initiated the round of price cuts on Sep. 9, leading to reductions of 10 cents/gal for its 110 vis grade, and 15 cents/gal for its 220 vis oil. The posting of its 600 vis cut did not undergo any revisions.
Given plentiful availability of the low- and mid-viscosity grades, buyers said that suppliers had been offering competitive discounts over posted prices to promote sales.
At the same time, the heavier cuts remain in tight supply, and one producer was heard to have no stocks left of the Group II high-vis grade due to recent production issues.
Sellers also acknowledged that consumers had turned cautious because of crude oil price fluctuations, and preferred to delay orders until a clearer market picture emerged.
Upstream, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed around 2 percent on Tuesday, lifted by gains on Wall Street and expectations that U.S. oil inventory data due to be released later this week would show domestic stocks have dropped.
WTI closed on the CME/Nymex at $44.59 per barrel on Sep. 15, down $1.35/bbl from its Sep. 8 settlement of $45.94.
Brent was trading around $46.63/bbl on the CME on Sep. 15, down $2.89/bbl from $49.52/bbl a week earlier.
Historic U.S. posted base oil prices and WTI and Brent crude spot prices are available for purchase in Excel format.