Phillips 66 will be moving down its Group II Pure Performance 70N and 80N 12 cents/gal, while its PP110N, 225N and 600N oils will be trimmed 10 cents/gal, effective Oct. 20.

Chevron will be decreasing its Group II 100R, 220R, and 600R postings 10 cents/gal as of Oct. 21, “to reflect the current supply/demand balance and market conditions,” a company source said.

It was heard that also on Oct. 21, ExxonMobil intends to decrease its Group I cuts 10 cents/gal, except for its bright stock, which will see a reduction of 15 cents/gal, according to sources.

Paulsboro will also shave 10 cents off its Group I cuts and 15 cents off its bright stock on Oct. 26.

In terms of its Group II/II+ grades, there were reports that ExxonMobil will drop the price of its Group II EHC65 cut 10 cents/gal, and its Group II+ EHC45 posting 7 cents/gal.

No adjustments emerged for the Group III base oils, with these cuts also having dodged decreases the previous round.

A number of participants expressed concern that base oil prices continued to edge down, following fresh decreases last month, as margins are being squeezed. “Prices are about as low as they should go already,” a supplier noted.

Some sources explained that competition within the Group II segment has been more pronounced than within the other categories, and sellers expect domestic demand to decline over the next few weeks, while availability of most base oils remains plentiful.

The heavy-vis cuts are still tighter than their light counterparts, but supply could lengthen if demand tapers off, sources explained.

It was also heard that the lower Group II price indications were partly intended to keep Asian barrels out of the U.S. market.

While contract business has been fairly steady, spot and export opportunities have been slow to emerge, with not much large volume interest, according to sources. It appears buyers prefer to secure smaller base stock cargoes in order to minimize the risk of prices going down at a later date.

On the naphthenic front, availability of all grades is adequate and inventories are reported as well-balanced. Demand has not shown significant fluctuations, supporting current price indications, but sources did not discard the possibility that suppliers would re-evaluate conditions in coming weeks.

In production news, Calumet has completed a planned maintenance program at its Shreveport, La., facilities, and the units are back up and running well, according to a company source. The catalytic dewaxing unit, which produces light-viscosity oils, was taken off-line for two weeks in mid-September, while the solvent dewaxing or methyl ethyl ketone unit, where the heavy base oils are manufactured, was shut down in early October. The Shreveport facilities can produce 4,800 barrels per day of Group I base oil and 7,000 b/d of Group II cuts.

Upstream, West Texas Intermediate futures slipped by almost 3 percent on Monday, following comments from Irans oil minister that the country expects to hike production by 500,000 barrels a day in the coming months, but recovered on Tuesday as oil production in the U.S. continues to decline.

West Texas Intermediate closed on the CME/Nymex at $45.55 per barrel on Oct. 20, down $1.11 per bbl from its Oct. 13 settlement of $46.66.

Brent was trading around $48.71/bbl on the CME on Oct. 20, down 53 cents/bbl from $49.24/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.