SINGAPORE- Marine bunker fuel sales in Singapore kickstarted 2024 on a firm note, the latest data for January showed, climbing 12.1 percent year-on-year as shipping disruptions in the Red Sea spurred more ships to refuel in the city-state.
Sales at the world’s largest bunker hub totaled 4.91 million metric tons in January, data from Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority released late on Wednesday showed.
Ships have been topping up more at hubs such as Singapore where fuel is more competitively priced compared to farther-flung ports, market sources said, after a growing number of vessels re-routed around Africa to avoid potential attacks.
This supported premiums for low-sulphur bunker deliveries in January, while availability of bunker barges also tightened, leading to a slight dip in sales compared to December.
Vessel calls for bunkering rose for a second month to 3,751 in January, though container throughput dipped at 3.31 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
Low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) sales for bunkering totaled 2.86 million tons in January, up for a second month.
Demand will likely see push-and-pull factors in February, said Ivan Mathews, head of FGE’s Asia Refining and Global Fuel Oil Service.
“Bullish factors include continued diversions and competitive prices versus Zhoushan,” said Mathews, referring to the bunkering hub on China’s east coast.
But, he added that there is downside risk because of seasonally lower demand during the Lunar New Year holidays.
