SINGAPORE- Singapore’s marine fuel sales, also known as bunker sales, were steady in September month-on-month as vessel calls and container throughput were little changed, official data showed on Monday.
Sales in September totaled 4.26 million metric tons, up 0.2 percent from prior month and 7.7 percent higher year-on-year, latest data from the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) showed.
Bunker sales in Singapore are a key indicator of sentiment at the world’s largest ship refueling hub, which is also one of the busiest shipping lanes globally.
Singapore’s container throughput was 3.7 percent lower from August’s levels, at 3,206,700 twenty-foot equivalent units in September. The number of vessel calls for bunkering stood at 3,478 last month.
Low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) sales for bunkering had totaled 2.45 million tons in September, down 2.2 percent from August, while high-sulphur marine fuel oil (MFO) sales totaled 1.47 million tons in September, up 5.7 percent from prior month.
Bunker fuel prices trended higher in September due to an increase in upstream crude oil prices, leading to less spot buying from shippers.
“380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) cracks weakened significantly month-on-month in September, offsetting an increase in crude flat prices,” said Ivan Mathews, FGE’s head of Asia refining and global fuel oil service.
“As a result, HSFO bunker prices were cheaper in September, driving more opportunistic purchases of the high-sulphur grade.”
Sales of bio-blended LSFO eased after a steady monthly uptrend into August, falling to 43,000 tons in September.
Total bio-blended LSFO sales were at 324,460 tons in 2023 so far, the data showed.
September bunker sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell to 7,700 tons for a second month, with total sales at 78,380 tons to date this year. -Reuters
