Bunker sales at Fujairah provide a gauge of shipping market sentiment in the Middle East, as Fujairah is the world's third-largest bunkering port and a key transit and blending hub for oil products.
Total bunker volumes, excluding lubricants, rose to 596,330 cubic metres (about 591,000 tonnes) in April, based on data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone published by industry information service S&P Global Commodity Insights. Bunker sales in April rebounded by 6.5% month-on-month, though compared lower by 10.3% from the same month last year.
The rebound was driven by firmer high-sulphur bunker sales, which recovered by 56.6% month-on-month to 126,943 cubic meters (about 126,000 tonnes).
Meanwhile, low-sulphur bunker sales in April totalled 469,387 cubic meters (about 465,000 tonnes), easing 2.0% from last month. This brought the market share of low-sulphur bunkers to 79% and of high-sulphur bunkers to 21% in April, versus 86% and 14% in March, respectively.
But overall demand for bunkers at Fujairah had been lukewarm in May so far, Dubai-based trade sources said.
Fujairah prices for delivered 0.5% marine fuel have dropped in May to single-digit premiums versus benchmark Singapore cargo quotes.
This compared lower with Singapore 0.5% marine fuel premiums, which were between $20 to $30 versus cargo quotes this month. Demand at world's largest bunker hub Singapore rebounded in March and April as vessel calls for bunkering hit two-year highs.
Fujairah bunker sales by month in cubic metres, excluding
lubricants:
Month Total Sales M-o-M Y-o-Y
Jan-22 646,089 -7.4% -4.3%
Feb-22 612,388 -5.2% -3.0%
Mar-22 691,141 12.9% 9.9%
Apr-22 664,870 -3.8% -1.4%
May-22 745,064 12.1% 11.6%
Jun-22 647,184 -13.1% -2.8%
Jul-22 665,128 2.8% -3.0%
Aug-22 723,418 8.8% 2.9%
Sep-22 667,878 -7.7% 5.0%
Oct-22 655,126 -1.9% -15.6%
Nov-22 636,688 -2.8% -13.1%
Dec-22 694,390 9.1% -0.5%
Jan-23 633,023 -8.8% -2.0%
Feb-23 572,371 -9.6% -6.5%
Mar-23 559,800 -2.2% -19.0%
Apr-23* 596,330 6.5% -10.3%
Monthly bunker sales by grade in cubic metres:
Month 180cst LSFO 380cst LSFO 380cst HSFO MGO LSMGO Lubricants
Jan-22 288 497,670 119,747 1,215 27,169 5,341
Feb-22 150 462,035 125,389 1,395 23,419 5,234
Mar-22 369 527,677 129,293 1,096 32,706 5,469
Apr-22 1,084 512,565 116,621 1,873 32,727 5,193
May-22 453 555,151 154,721 1,087 33,652 5,713
Jun-22 372 482,926 132,690 1,287 29,909 5,036
Jul-22 262 518,374 112,223 1,032 33,237 4,864
Aug-22 528 549,205 142,548 1,607 29,530 4,869
Sep-22 589 508,277 128,515 1,210 29,287 5,269
Oct-22 984 481,052 141,780 1,164 30,146 4,269
Nov-22 1,594 476,746 129,528 903 27,917 3,904
Dec-22 1,494 500,082 159,566 899 32,349 4,715
Jan-23 300 453,703 151,055 796 27,169 4,039
Feb-23 545 389,544 159,908 713 21,661 4,549
Mar-23 250 451,405 81,058 538 26,549 3,475
Apr-23* 480 441,912 126,943 257 26,738 4,270
(Data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone published by S&P Global Commodity Insights)
(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)
