Marine fuel sales at the Middle Eastern bunker hub of Fujairah, in the UAE, rebounded in October versus September but posted a year-over-year decline for a fourth straight month, the latest data showed.
Sales volumes at the world's third-largest bunker port, excluding lubricants, totalled 635,471 cubic metres (about 629,500 metric tons) in October, showed Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
The sales climbed 3.3 per cent month-on-month to a two-month high, but fell 2.9 per cent from the same month last year, the data showed.
Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have affected refuelling demand in the region over the past months, trade sources said.
Total low-sulphur bunker sales, including residual fuels and marine gasoils, fell 7.3 per cent to 435,000 cubic metres in October from the previous month.
Meanwhile, total high-sulphur fuel sales strengthened, with volumes soaring 37.5 per cent month-on-month to about 201,000 cubic metres.
The uptrend was in line with that seen at other bunker hubs such as Singapore, as some buyers took advantage of the cheaper prices versus low-sulphur fuels amid a relatively wide price spread in October.
The market share of high-sulphur bunkers widened to 32 per cent in October compared with 24 per cent in September, while low-sulphur bunkers narrowed to 68 per cent from 76 per cent. -Reuters