Asia/Pacific News
Japan: High Sulfur Riding High
Demand for Japan's high sulfur bunker product should remain buoyant over the short term, according to price reporting agency S&P Global Platts.
Citing traders, Platts said the 380 centistoke (cst) bunker fuel market "was likely to see further upside in the near term as demand receives a boost from scrubber-fitted vessels looking for bargains and diminishing availability".
Completed scrubber installations at Chinese shipyards will see those ships looking to Japan for "competitively-priced high sulfur bunker fuel".
Four ships released from shipyards last week were doing just that, a market source was quoted as saying.
Another factor in tightening fundamentals in Japan's bunker market was weaker supply as refineries reduce run rates and enter the spring maintenance season, according to the report.
3.5% sulfur bunker fuel was superceded by 0.5% sulfur fuel as the market's benchmark product at the start of the year.
