Americas News
Panama Bunker Volumes Sink in April
Marine fuel sales in Panama sank on both a monthly and yearly basis in April.
Total sales reached 402,313 mt last month, according to data from the Panama Maritime Authority, the lowest level since November 2020. The total was down by 9% from April 2020 and by 3.1% from March's level.
Global bunker sales are generally expected to rally this year from the lows of last year's COVID-19 crisis, but that recovery may be faltering as new lockdown measures hamper demand. Bunker volumes in Singapore last month gained 3.5% from the same time a year earlier and by 1.3% from March's level.
The number of ships coming to Panama to bunker sank by 4.7% on the year to 542 in April, taking the average stem size up by 1.7% to about 742 mt. Over the past 12 months the average stem size was about 735 mt.
VLSFO sales dropped by 11.1% from a year earlier to 292,775 mt, while HSFO sales surged by 117% to 68,049 mt. HSFO took a 16.9% share of total sales in April, up from 7.6% a year earlier.
MGO sales sank by 78.5% on the year to 10,058 mt, while low-sulfur MGO more than tripled to 31,431 mt.
