Three more base oil suppliers announced price increases during the past week, completing a round of markups that began when ExxonMobil raised its postings March 8.
ConocoPhillips, ChevronTexaco and Calumet followed the general trend set by other suppliers, imposing bigger increases for heavier grades. ChevronTexaco raised all three of its Group II postings March 12, adding 3 cents per gallon to its solvent neutral 100 and 220 and 5 cents to its solvent neutral 600.
Calumet upped prices by 3 cents for viscosity grades up to and including 325, by 5 cents for its Group II 600 neutral and by 7 cents for bright stock. ConocoPhillips, another Group II supplier, made no changes to its 70 and 80 solvent neutrals and raised its other three postings by 3 cents.
Crude oil costs rose to their highest levels since the end of the war in Iraq. The price of crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at $37.45 per barrel yesterday, 99 cents higher than the previous week.
Analysts blamed the increase on nervousness caused by the March 11 terrorist attacks in Madrid and fears that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will follow through on an earlier decision to tighten supply. Some observers also cited renewed political unrest in Venezuela, where the drive for a recall election for President Hugo Chavez is gaining steam.
Historic U.S. posted base oil prices and WTI and Brent crude spot prices are available for purchase in Excel format.