Americas News
Panama August Bunker Sales Jump to 17-Month High
Marine fuel demand in Panama jumped to the highest level in 17 months in August.
Panama's total sales reached 457,126 mt in August, according to preliminary data from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP). The total was up by 8.6% from a year earlier, by 4.7% from July's level and the highest monthly total since March 2023.
Singapore, the world's largest marine fuels hub, saw conventional and biofuel bunker sales jump by 6.5% on the year but fall by 2.4% on the month in August.
VLSFO sales in Panama lost 9.6% on the year to 264,278 mt in August. HSFO gained 80.4% to 150,072 mt, MGO sank by 19.4% to 8,012 mt and LSMGO slipped by 1.9% to 34,764 mt.
HSFO's share of the total was 32.8%, up from 19.8% a year earlier.
The number of ships coming to Panama to bunker declined by 2.8% on the year to 617 in August, taking the average stem size up by 11.8% to about 741 mt. So far this year the average stem size has been about 764 mt.
The VLSFO price at Balboa averaged $584/mt in August, according to Ship & Bunker data, down by 4.9% from July's level and by 9.9% from August 2023.
Singapore's average VLSFO price in August was $612/mt, down by 2.1% from July's level and by 4.5% from the level seen a year earlier.
Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports lost 2.6% on the month and 5.5% on the year to $618/mt in August.
