Americas News
Panama Bunker Sales Declined in April
Marine fuel demand in Panama declined on both a monthly and yearly basis in April as low water levels limited transits through its canal.
Panama's total sales reached 375,848 mt in April, according to preliminary data from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP). The total was down by 2.3% from a year earlier, by 4% from March's level and the lowest monthly total since February.
Singapore, the world's largest marine fuels hub, saw conventional and biofuel bunker sales drop by 1.3% on the year by 4.7% on the month in April.
VLSFO sales in Panama lost 17.4% on the year to 225,732 mt in April. HSFO gained 63.1% to 114,093 mt, MGO sank by 39% to 6,335 mt and LSMGO slipped by 4.2% to 29,688 mt.
HSFO's share of the total was 30.4%, up from 18.2% a year earlier.
The number of ships coming to Panama to bunker declined by 15.8% on the year to 500 in April, taking the average stem size up by 16.1% to about 752 mt. So far this year the average stem size has been about 760 mt.
The VLSFO price at Balboa averaged $670/mt in April, according to Ship & Bunker data, up by less than 0.1% from March's level and by 6.8% from April 2023.
Singapore's average VLSFO price in April was $649/mt, up by 1% from March's level and by 7.4% from the level seen a year earlier.
Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports gained 0.6% on the month and 6.8% on the year to $668.50/mt in April.
