Asia/Pacific News
Chinese Bunker Market to Tighten Over Summer
Friday July 9, 2021
The Chinese bunker market is set to tighten over the summer until new bonded bunker allocations are issued.
Chinese producer Sinopec is likely to use up its bonded bunker export quotas by August, price reporting agency S&P Global Platts reported on Friday, citing local market sources. Sinopec produces about 65% of China's VLSFO output.
Further allocations are unlikely to be issued this month, Platts cited a source in China as saying.
A tightening market in China may slow the rapid rise of Zhoushan as a bunkering hub over the past year.
Competitive pricing has allowed Zhoushan to shift some market share away from Singapore and Hong Kong, but this process may be slowed or reversed if tight supplies raise Chinese VLSFO prices.
