Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Bunker Sales Continue Surge Beyond 2019's Levels
Bunker demand in Singapore continues to show healthy growth from last year's levels, with the latest Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) data showing a 10.2% jump in October.
Total sales at the world's largest marine fuels hub were 4.152 million mt in October, the MPA said Friday, gaining 10.2% from the same month a year earlier but slipping by 1.6% from September's level.
The year-to-date total at Singapore is now 6% above the level for the first 10 months of 2019, and once 2020 is over the total may just reach 50 million mt/year again.
The growth in demand shows the strength of marine fuel hubs this year as volatile bunker prices since March and uncertainty over VLSFO quality at the start of 2020 have driven buyers from smaller ports to larger, more stable bunkering locations like Singapore. Rotterdam has also seen growth this year, with demand in the first three quarters of 2020 4% higher than in the same period of 2019.
The increase in last month's sales in Singapore came despite calls for bunkers having slipped by 1.3% from a year earlier to 3,396 vessels in October, meaning the average stem size jumped by 11.7% on the year to about 1,223 mt.
Very low sulfur fuel oil and 0.5% sulfur gasoil and diesel sales fell by 6.2% from September's levels to 2.739 million mt in October, while high sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) sales surged by 16.1% to 1.084 million mt. HSFO's share of total demand was 26.1%.
Sales of 0.1% sulfur gasoil and ultra low sulfur fuel oil sank by 9.5% on the month to 328,400 mt, the MPA said.
