Sales of marine fuel at the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah port started 2026 on a stronger note, with January volumes logging a four-month high, data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) showed.
January bunker sales totalled 635,835 cubic metres (about 630,000 tonnes), up 6.1 per cent from December and comparing 1.1 per cent higher versus January a year ago, based on FOIZ data published by SP Global Energy.
Demand was healthy at the start of the year, with volumes edging up for both high-sulphur and low-sulphur grades. Sales of high-sulphur marine fuel were up 14.7 per cent from December at 186,245 cubic metres in January.
Meanwhile, low-sulphur marine fuel sales, including both fuel oils and marine gasoils, climbed 1.8 per cent to 407,459 cubic metres. This brought the market share of high-sulphur fuels higher at 36 per cent in January versus 33 per cent in December, while low-sulphur bunkers dropped to 64 per cent from 67 per cent.
Robust bunker demand has capped Fujairah inventories well into February, which fell to a 16-week low as of last week, FOIZ data showed. The stronger sales were in line with an uptrend seen at bunker hub Singapore, which saw volumes logging a seasonal boost at the start of the year.
(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh)
