US Base Oil Prices Surge 7.41% Amid Strait of Hormuz Disruption and Diesel Price Spike

Base Oil Group II H xxx FOB Texas jumped to x,xxx.xx USD/MT during mid-March xxxx, posting a gain of xxx.xx USD/MT or +x.xxx from the previous week’s x,xxx.xx USD/MT. The sharp base oil increase reflects a continuation of bullish momentum driven by rising feedstock crude oil prices following the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has severely tightened global supply and escalated costs.

Several major base oil U.S. producers implemented back-to-back price hikes in response to this supply-demand imbalance. ExxonMobil, Calumet, SK Enmove, and HF Sinclair communicated a second round of increases after earlier revisions in March, while Chevron, Excel Paralubes, and Avista Oil introduced their first base oil hikes since the onset of the Iran conflict. Spot offers were largely suspended, particularly for exports, as domestic and Latin American contract obligations took precedence. Tight domestic supplies, combined with rising freight rates...