SINGAPORE DATA: Bunker sales fall to three-month low of 3.97 mil mt in September

Bunker fuel sales at the world's largest bunker hub of Singapore rose 0.8% on the year but fell 3.6% from August to a three-month low of 3.968 million mt in September, according to preliminary data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Oct. 13.

Bunker sales at the port of Singapore were last recorded lower at 3.754 million mt in June, latest MPA data showed.

Sales of the International Maritime Organization-compliant bunker fuel dipped 4.2% on the year and 1.5% on the month to 2.474 million mt in September.

Even though sales of the low sulfur fuel oil bunker grade hit its lowest level since June, the proportion of LSFO delivered to vessels against the total bunker sales reached a three-month high of 62.3% in September, 1.3 percentage points higher month on month but still 3.3 percentage points below the previous year.

Elevated inventory levels weighed on premiums of both the delivered and ex-wharf grades amid mostly weak demand for LSFO bunkers across September in Singapore, according to market sources.

The Platts Singapore-delivered marine fuel 0.5%S bunker premiums over the benchmark FOB Singapore Marine Fuel 0.5%S cargo assessments slipped to average $27.64/mt in September from $42.48/mt in August, and rose to average $36.48/mt over Oct. 3-12, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Sales of high sulfur bunker fuel -- including 180 CST, 380 CST and 500 CST bunker fuel -- rose 12% year on year but fell 9.3% on the month to 1.116 million mt in September, according to MPA data.

With HSFO bunker sales dropping for a second consecutive month, the proportion of HSFO sales against the total fell 1.8 percentage points month on month to 28.1% in September, 2.8 percentage points higher on the year.

September's HSFO demand was deemed healthy despite the build up of inventory, which led some upstream cargo suppliers to seek potential ex-wharf buyers to offload stockpiles, market sources said.

The Platts Singapore-delivered 380 CST HSFO bunker premiums over the FOB Singapore 380 CST HSFO cargo assessments averaged $23.04/mt in September, compared to $22.97/mt in August, but slipped to average $16.62/mt over Oct. 3-12, above $32.31/mt in July, S&P Global data showed.

Sales of low sulfur marine gasoil -- which has a maximum sulfur content of 0.1% -- fell 0.7% on the year and 0.3% on the month to 329,400 mt in September, MPA data showed.

The drop in LSMGO bunker sales were expected amid a slowdown in bunker demand during September, and stockpiles are adequate to meet downstream requirements despite fewer imports from South Korea.

In September, the number of bunker-only calls fell 1.8% from August to 3,155, while the number of total vessel arrivals fell 1.7% from August to 8,976 -- both hitting three-month lows, according to the MPA data.