Americas News
Panama November Bunker Demand Loses 11.3% on Year
Marine fuel demand in Panama sank on both a monthly and yearly basis in November, but total sales for 2022 are still heading for a three-year high.
Panama's total sales reached 412,792 mt in November, according to preliminary data from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP). The total was down by 11.3% from a year earlier and by 9% from October's level.
Panama's total for 2022 is heading for about 5.15 million mt, the most since 2019.
Singapore, the world's largest marine fuels hub, saw sales rise by 3.6% year-on-year in November and jump by 2.9% from October's level.
Panama's November HSFO sales lost 24% on the year to 75,221 mt, the least since September 2021. HSFO's share of the total was 18.2%, down from 21.3% a year earlier.
VLSFO lost 6.1% on the year to 296,592 mt, MGO fell by 38.7% to 7,102 mt and LSMGO sank by 13.3% to 33,877 mt.
The number of ships coming to Panama to bunker declined by 2.8% on the year to 627 in November, taking the average stem size down by 8.8% to about 658 mt. Over the previous 12 months the average stem size was about 702 mt.
The VLSFO price at Balboa averaged $684.50/mt in November, according to Ship & Bunker data, down by 4.5% from October's levels but up by 12.8% from November 2021.
Singapore's average VLSFO price in November was down by 6.1% from October's level but up by 9.8% from the level seen a year earlier. Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports lost 4.9% on the month and gained 14.6% on the year to $713/mt in November.
