UAE’s Fujairah Nov bunker sales lowest in 17 months

Marine fuel sales at the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah, a key Middle Eastern bunker hub, fell to their lowest in 17 months in November, the latest data showed.
Demand for ship refuelling slowed in Fujairah as competitive prices at neighbouring port Khor Fakkan drew some demand away, trade sources said, while recent geopolitical tensions continued to keep sentiment cautious.
Sales volumes at the world’s third-largest bunker port, excluding lubricants, totalled 606,042 cubic metres (about 600,300 metric tons) in November, showed Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Volumes fell 4.6% month-on-month and edged 0.7% lower from the same month last year, calculations based on the data showed, posting a year-over-year decline for a fifth straight month.
Total low-sulphur bunker sales, including residual fuels and marine gasoils, dipped 1.3% month-on-month at 429,000 cubic metres. Meanwhile, total high-sulphur fuel sales also softened, with volumes dropping 11.8% to 177,000 cubic metres.
The market share of low-sulphur bunkers widened to 71% in November from 68% in October, while high-sulphur bunkers narrowed to 29% compared with 32% in October.
A narrower hi-5 spread could have spurred more low-sulphur bunker uptake, as the premium of VLSFO over 380-cst HSFO shrunk to less than $90 a metric ton by end-November, compared to more than $125 in early-November, based on LSEG data.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)