Marine fuel sales at the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah dipped to a three-month low in September, latest data showed, largely led by a sharp drop in high-sulphur marine fuel volumes.

Sales volumes at the world’s third-largest bunker port, excluding lubricants, totalled 614,929 cubic metres (about 609,000 metric tons) in September, showed Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Some cargo-loading delays slowed overall bunker lifting activities last month, market sources said. The sales volume was down 6.3% from August and 2.2% from September last year.

High-sulphur fuel sales fell 21.9% month-on-month to about 146,000 cubic metres, while total low-sulphur bunker sales including residual fuels and marine gasoils were little changed at 469,000 cubic metres.

The weaker high-sulphur sales emerged amid a narrower Hi-5 spread, which is the premium of VLSFO over 380-cst high sulphur fuel.

From more than $180 a ton in early September, the spread narrowed to less than $135 into mid-September, before steadying between $140 and $150 into late-September, based on LSEG’s prompt-month data.

The market share of low-sulphur bunkers widened to 76% in September, while that of high-sulphur bunkers narrowed to 24%.
Source: Reuters