Sales of marine bunker fuel in Singapore fell to a three-month low in September following a surge in August, although they remained above typical averages, according to official data released on Tuesday.
Sales at the world’s largest bunker hub totalled 4.77 million tonnes last month, down four per cent month-on-month but 8.7 per cent higher than in September last year, data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) showed.
Vessel calls for bunkering slipped 2.5 per cent from August to 3,518 calls in September, while container throughput totalled 3.76 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), down 2.6 per cent.
Sales for residual bunker fuels logged monthly declines for both low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and high-sulphur fuel oil (MFO) grades, down six per cent and one per cent respectively, while total marine gasoil sales inched one per cent higher from August.
Premiums for both delivered VLSFO and MFO have been steady in the low-$10s per tonne over the cargo benchmark price, based on data from market sources.
Meanwhile, sales of "alternative fuels" dipped slightly in September following a strong performance in August. Total biofuel-blended bunker sales fell 11.7 per cent to 119,300 tonnes, while liquefied natural gas bunker sales slipped 27.6 per cent to 48,500 tonnes after hitting a fresh high in August.
(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Eileen Soreng)