- Gain in low sulfur sales on month surprised traders
- Fuel oil bunker sales highest since May
- HSFO outperforms LSFO
A recent news article published in the Platts news source states that the August bunker sales climb 2.9% on year to 3-month high.
UAE’s Port of Fujairah
Ship fuel sales at the UAE’s Port of Fujairah, the world’s third-biggest bunkering hub, climbed 2.9% in August on the year even after floods disrupted operations.
Total sales were 728,287 cubic meters, 8.7% higher than in July, according to data on the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone website. Heavy rain and floods at the end of July disrupted operations through early August as refueling operations for bunker barges were mostly hampered and upstream cargo suppliers ceased terminal operations, thus limiting product availabilities for downstream bunker deliveries.
Sales of bunker fuel with 0.5% sulfur
Sales of bunker fuel with 0.5% sulfur, complying with 2020 IMO rules to curb ship emissions, totaled 549,733 cu m in August, up 6% on the month and 1.5% higher on the year. Traders expected a 13-15% decline on the month, according to an informal poll by S&P Global Commodity Insights. Suppliers have been eager to move volumes since the second half of August into September to compensate for losses in the first half of August, they said.
LSFO prices in Fujairah have been on the decline, leaving the spread against the delivered grade in Singapore down to $2/mt on Sept. 16, from $13.75/mt over Sept. 1-16 and $51.45/mt in August, according to S&P Global data from Platts assessments. The Platts Fujairah-delivered marine fuel 0.5%S bunker premium to benchmark FOB Singapore marine fuel 0.5%S cargo assessments averaged $93.94/mt in August, down from $102.48/mt in July, the S&P Global data show. The premium has averaged $40.64/mt over Sept. 1-16.
High sulfur marine fuel oil
High sulfur marine fuel oil 380 CST sales jumped 27% on the month and were 10.2% higher on the year, beating trader expectations for a 20% rise on the month. Requirements of larger parcels were seen in the market during August, supporting demand, traders said. Russian supplies of HSFO have been growing at the port as buyers in Europe and the US shun its products after the Ukraine invasion in February.
Platts Fujairah-delivered 380 CST HSFO premiums against the FO 380 CST 3.5% sulfur FOB Arab Gulf cargo assessments averaged $35.77/mt for all of August, below the $56.49/mt in July and almost doubled to $64.20/mt over Sept. 1-16, S&P Global data showed.
LSFO made up 75.5% of sales in August, down from 77.4% in July, while HSFO’s share grew to 19.6% from 16.7% over the same period.
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Source: Platts
