Along similar lines, Kleen Performance Products will be increasing its Group II+ RHT 120 and 240 base oil prices by 20 cents/gal on May 1.

Whether the increases can be pushed through in their entirety and across the board as intended remains to be seen, as buyers appear to be resisting the initiatives because they foresee difficulties in recovering the higher values from the downstream supply chain.

Several finished lubricant price increases were initiated since the last round of base oil price hikes took place in March, and manufacturers said it would not be possible to implement a second increase on finished products so soon.

It was also unclear whether other producers would follow suit, as many are in a completely sold-out position, with no extra product to offer.

Furthermore, the upward price pressure may weaken once all the facilities that are currently shut down, or will be undergoing a turnaround, return to full operation, sources noted.

The price table below will not reflect the increases mentioned above until the week of May 1 when the hikes are scheduled to go into effect.

Meanwhile, bright stock appears to have stolen the limelight in terms of buying appetite, both on the domestic and export fronts, but other Group I oils are also much sought after in a tight domestic scenario.

A majority of U.S. suppliers are striving to meet contractual requirements and appear to have little to no availability of extra volumes for spot business.

We are tight on all grades, including the light ones. There are a lot of requests coming from Mexico for light-vis Group I base oils that cannot be filled by U.S. refiners, a supplier explained.

As a result, spot prices continued to inch up during the week, but even after accepting the steeper levels, buyers were sometimes unable to find all the spot supplies they required, sources commented.

Spot indications for bright stock at Brownsville were heard above $3/gal, but this price was considered mostly notional and a moving target because there was hardly any product that can be delivered immediately in the U.S. Gulf.

While the Group I segment has grown very tight, availability of Group II cuts has also grown increasingly limited due to ongoing turnarounds at two large U.S. base oil facilities.

The turnaround at the Excel Paralubes Group II unit in Westlake, La., which started in early March, is anticipated to be completed next week, while the Chevron Group II plant in Pascagoula, Miss., was likely to be down for about three weeks, beginning this month, according to sources.

There has been healthy buying interest from South America, Mexico and Europe, but given limited availability in the U.S., there were not many fresh deals concluded during the week. A couple of cargoes were heard to be scheduled to move to Colombia and Venezuela this month, but further details were not forthcoming.

Steady demand was also observed on the naphthenic front, with no further price revisions heard, following the increases implemented by two pale oil producers in March.

Aside from sparse supply, another factor that was exerting upward pressure on base oil pricing was crude oil, as numbers have firmed over the last couple of weeks.

Crude futures climbed on Tuesday on reports that Saudi Arabia told OPEC officials it would propose extending production cuts enacted at the beginning of the year for another six months when the group meets in May, according to the Wall Street Journal.

West Texas Intermediate futures on the CME/Nymex settled at $53.40 per barrel on April 11, up $2.37/bbl from the April 4 settlement of $51.03/bbl.

Light Louisiana Sweet wholesale spot prices closed at $55.31 per barrel on April 10, compared to $52.15/bbl on April 3, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Brent was trading at $56.23/bbl on the CME on April 11, up $2.06/bbl from $54.17/bbl on April 4.

Historic U.S. posted base oil prices and WTI and Brent crude spot prices are available for purchase in Excel format.