<article><p class="lead">Sales of marine fuels at the port of Singapore rose by 1pc or 57,000t on the month to 4.3mn t in April, according to preliminary data from Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), although very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) sales declined slightly from March.</p><p>The total April sales were also 142,000t higher from a year earlier. </p><p>Sales of VLSFO reached 2.81mn t in April, down from <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2204671">2.83mn t in March</a>. Demand for VLSFO with a maximum viscosity of 380cst, 180cst and 100cst totalled 2.14mn t, 180,000t and 493,000 t respectively last month. </p><p>Market participants were anticipating lower sales given weaker demand overall and more competitive prices in China because of oversupply there.</p><p>Low-sulphur marine gasoil (LSMGO) sales fell to 298,000 in April from 319,000t in March. But sales of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) rose to 1.09mn t in April from 992,000t in March. </p><p>The premium of VLSFO to HSFO, also known as the scrubber or Hi-5 spread, remained largely stable at $112/t in April compared with $109/t in March, according to <i>Argus</i> data.</p><p>A total of 3,458 vessels called at the Singapore port to refuel last month, similar to March's 3,461, according to MPA data. This translates into an average stem size of 1,233t.</p><p><i>Argus</i> reported a daily average of eight spot bunker deals in April, with five for VLSFO, 2.5 for LSMGO and 0.5 for HSFO.</p><p>Singapore's delivered VLSFO, LSMGO and HSFO prices averaged $488/t, $520/t and $376/t in April, down from $498/t, $526/t and $389/t in March respectively.</p><p class="bylines">By Sammy Six</p></article>
