Sales of marine fuel, also known as bunkers, fell to an 8-month low in February at the world’s top bunkering hub Singapore as demand softened, latest official data showed on Tuesday.

Delivered bunker premiums tumbled compared to January, with aggressive selling seen in recent weeks as sellers struggled to clear inventories, according to trade sources.

Bunker sales reached 3.79 million tonnes in February, sliding 13% month-on-month although rising 8% year-on-year, data from Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority showed.

The decline came in line with lower vessel calls for bunkering, with arrivals sliding to an 8-month low of 3,063.

Sales of low-sulphur marine fuel oil totalled 2.35 million tonnes in February, falling 16% month-on-month, the data showed.

Lower demand has weighed on cash premiums for 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil, which tumbled from high $20s a tonne in early February to single-digit premiums in March. (MFO05-SIN-DIF)

“In the short-term, the downside risks are posed by the sluggish containership trade flow volumes from Northeast Asia to the rest of the world,” said Emril Jamil, Refinitiv’s senior analyst for crude and fuel oil.

Meanwhile, high-sulphur marine fuel oil sales fell 10% from January to 1.11 million tonnes in February. Marine gasoil sales were 7% lower at 303,230 tonnes over the same period.

Marex Media