Asia/Pacific News
"Best Ever February" Bunker Sales Helps Singapore Make Record Start to the Year
Singapore last month recorded its highest ever February bunker sales total, which following a strong sales performance in January has helped the world's biggest bunkering port by volume make its best ever start to a year with a combined sales volume of over 7 million metric tonnes (mt) for the first time on record.
The latest official data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) shows sales for all products in February 2015 totalled 3,396,000 metric tonnes (mt), a 3.6 percent increase on the volume sold in the period last year, which built on a 3.4 percent improvement in year-on-year sales for January 2015.
Given the short month that also often includes Lunar New Year holidays, Singapore's February bunker sales total is usually lower than January, with 2007 being the most recent year that this was not the case.
While 2015 followed this usual trend, the decline of 7.7 percent compared to the 3,680,100 mt sold last month was the smallest drop between the two months since 2010, when it fell 5.0 percent.
Ultimately, February's sales were high enough to make 2015's two month year-to-date total a record 7,076,100 mt.
Also as usual, sales of IFO380 at the port made up the vast majority of the overall monthly volume with sales of 2,490.1 mt.
Sales of 500 cSt product, the port's second most popular grade of fuel, were up 2.6 percent month-on-month and 32 percent year-on-year to 694,400 mt.
Calls for bunkers in February increased 4 percent over the period last year to 3,005.
"It was the port's best February on record, and its been the best start to a year we've seen, and I'm sure the low prices have helped with that," a local player told Ship & Bunker.
Following the collapse in the oil price last year, January bunker prices in Singapore and globally tumbled to their lowest levels for several years before recovering slightly in February, Ship & Bunker data shows.
So far in March, Singapore bunker prices have once again been trending down, and on Friday had declined $31.50 per mt (pmt) over the preceding two weeks.
