Motiva adjusts US base oil posted prices

OREANDA-NEWS. June 08, 2015. Motiva Enterprises notified customers this morning that it will adjust the posted prices for its Group II base stock, raising the price of its heavy grade and cutting the price of its light grade.

Motiva increased the price for its N600 by 18?/USG to \\$2.98/USG and reduced the price for its N105 by 10?/USG to \\$2.35/USG. The company will leave the price of its N220 mid-viscosity grade unchanged.

The changes will go into effect 5 June.

This is the company's first price movement in six months and the first increase it has made since March 2014. Motiva cut its prices four times during the second half of 2014 as base oil supply outstripped demand and crude and other feedstock prices fell sharply.

The company lowered its prices on December 2014 by 50-55?/USG. The move followed a drop by 25-40?/USG in November, a 15-45?/USG cut in October and a 10-25?/USG decrease in August. The series of price cuts reduced its N100 by \\$1/USG, N220 by \\$1.25/USG and N600 by \\$1.65/USG.

This is the second price adjustment a major US Group II producer has made this year. Chevron raised the price of all of its Group II products by 20?/USG in March.

The price of Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS), a benchmark crude in the US Gulf that base oils producers most often reference, has returned to early December levels at \\$64/bl, increasing by \\$5/bl (\\$0.13/USG) since Motiva's last price cut in mid-December.