Based on OilChem's data, China's bonded bunker fuel sales volume totaled 1.85 million tonnes in January, up 15% month-on-month, and 13% year-on-year, propped up by a surge in the domestic low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) production, decent demand in international shipping market, and falling oil prices.
China Bonded Bunker Fuel Consumption
Source: OilChem
In detail, boosted by the release of the first batch of LSFO export quotas for 2024, the producers ramped up LSFO production in January, which soared 43% from last month, data from OilChem showed. In addition, the demand of international shipping market was moderate in January, and the prices of high and low sulfur fuel oil falling from high also appealed the ship owners.
China Bonded Bunker Fuel Consumption by Region in Jan
Source: OilChem
It can be seen from above chart that, East China, Shandong and North China still ranked the top three regions in bonded bunker fuel sales volume, and East China, especially, made up for 54% of the total. However, the volume shrank in South China, due to tight supply.
The bonded bunker fuel sales volume at China's major ports rose drastically in January. Zhoushan Port, located in Zhejiang Province, still outperformed by sales volume, which climbed as much as 70% from last month. The volume of other ports inched up as well, according to OilChem.
OilChem believes that the bonded bunker fuel sales volume might edge down in February, since the LSFO production might be down slightly, and the end-user demand would be sluggish during the Chinese New Year holiday.
Written by Catherine Sun, sss@oilchem.net
Edited by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com