<article><p class="lead">Waterborne loadings of US Gulf coast jet fuel to Latin America slowed to 26-month lows in May amid rising US domestic demand and as Latin American countries saw increased arrivals from the Middle East and Asia Pacific. </p><p>Vessel movements of Gulf coast jet fuel to Mexico, Central America, and South America shrank in May to 34,600 b/d, down by 25pc from April and down by 51pc from a year earlier to the lowest since March 2021, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa. Waterborne shipments to Mexico last month fell to 7,900 b/d, down by 76pc from April to the lowest since May 2020. Zero movements to Brazil were recorded for a third consecutive month. </p><p>Total US jet fuel exports — including waterborne and on-land movements — fell in May to a 14-month low of 65,300 b/d, down by 16pc from April and 30pc below May 2022 levels, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data show. The dip in exports last month coincided with rising domestic consumption as the summer travel season neared. US jet fuel products supplied — a proxy for demand — climbed to an average of 1.63mn b/d in May, a nine-month high and up by 4.6pc from April, according to the EIA.</p><p>US jet fuel exports ended last month on the rise, hitting a 12-week high of 216,000 b/d in the week ended 26 May, according to EIA data. But waterborne movements were still scant, with Vortexa showing just 36,330 b/d departed the Gulf coast during that seven-day period.</p><p>Increased flows to Latin America from the Middle East and Asia Pacific may have contributed to lower demand for shipments out of the US Gulf coast last month. Vortexa recorded 14,700 b/d of Kuwait-sourced jet fuel arriving in Brazil in May, marking a four-month high and up from zero in May 2022. China shipped 8,700 b/d to Mexico last month, the first flows since October 2021, while Chile imported the first jet fuel from Japan in 10 months at 8,600 b/d. </p><p class="bylines">By Jared Ainsworth</p></article>
