China bunker sales drop 10-20% on year to 800,000 mt in July: sources

Time:2013-08-05 Browse:50 Author:RISINGSUN
Bunker fuel sales in China dropped by 10-20% to 800,000 mt in July, various suppliers said. They attributed the lower sales to slow steaming by vessels to reduce fuel consumption and lower prices in Russia`s Far East.


For instance, Japan`s NYK Line said in its financial statement released on July 31 that "markets remained in a slump during the period (April-June 2013) due to the continued supply-demand imbalance caused by excess supply. In this environment, the NYK Group strove to reduce costs by expanding slow steaming to its entire fleet and implementing other group-wide measures to further reduce fuel consumption".


A Chinese bunker supplier said: "Shipping companies used to take 1,000-1,200 mt of bunker fuel at one loading, but these days the volume is only 500-700 mt."


Also, vessels are going to Russia`s Far East for bunkering because prices there are lower, the suppliers said.


Prices in Far East Russia are typically about $100/mt lower than in Singapore, where bunker prices are the lowest in Asia. As a result, bunker demand in Russia in April doubled year on year to 250,000-300,000 mt/month. The volume is still at that level, a bunker trader said Friday.