Base oil market participants often wish they could look into a crystal ball and anticipate what might happen in coming months, but as reality proves over and over again, it is extremely difficult-if not impossible-to predict the future. Take last month's base oil market, for example. Prices were fairly stable throughout September, following an isolated increase by Chevron in late August. Most participants agreed that prices were not going in a clear direction. If anything, there was more of a chance for values to decline than to move up, if historical data were any indication of pricing behavior in the final quarter of the year.
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