Americas News
Panama 2023 Bunker Demand Drops to Three-Year Low
A weak end to the year with reduced transits through the Panama Canal sent Panama's marine fuel demand in 2023 to a three-year low.
Panama's total sales reached 392,063 mt in December, according to preliminary data from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP). The total was down by 17.7% from a year earlier, but up by 2.7% from November's level.
That left the country's 2023 total at 4.905 million mt, down by 6.3% from the previous year and the least since 2020.
Singapore, the world's largest marine fuels hub, saw conventional and biofuel bunker sales jump by 20% on the year and by 18% on the month in December, while the city-state's 2023 total gained 8% on the year to a record 51.824 million mt.
VLSFO sales in Panama lost 23.4% on the year to 265,687 mt in December. HSFO gained 19.5% to 88,223 mt, MGO sank by 70.9% to 4,364 mt and LSMGO fell by 16.5% to 33,789 mt.
HSFO's share of the total was 22.5%, up from 15.5% a year earlier.
The number of ships coming to Panama to bunker declined by 28.5% on the year to 510 in December, taking the average stem size up by 15.1% to about 769 mt. Over the previous 12 months the average stem size was about 681 mt.
The VLSFO price at Balboa averaged $597/mt in December, according to Ship & Bunker data, down by 5.1% from November's level and by 6.1% from December 2022.
Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports lost 5.3% on the month and 2.2% on the year to $632.50/mt in December.
