Marine fuel sales in Singapore, the world’s largest bunker port by volume, edged up 0.1% to 3.56 million tonnes in October on the back of higher vessel arrivals by tonnage, official data showed on Monday.

Vessel arrivals to the city-state rose almost 5% last month as a recovering global economy spurred a pickup in trade.

 

Still, bunker sales did not keep pace with arrivals possibly because the fuel was pricier in October than the previous month, traders said.

 

Singapore’s bunker premiums in October, the price differential between ex-wharf bunker and fuel oil cargo values, averaged at US$1.13 ($1.47) a tonne, higher than September’s 73 cents, Reuters data showed.

 

Sales of the most common 380-centistoke (cst) grade gained 0.8% to an all-time high of 2.82 million tonnes, while the more expensive 180-cst grade fell 6.5%.

 

“The October number was pretty flat, but it looks like the total volume for the year will exceed 40 million tonnes," said a Singapore-based bunker trader.

 

Total bunker sales for 2010 are expected to hit a record peak of around 40 million tonnes, the Singapore government had said last month. 

 

Bunker volume for the first 10 months of the year stands at almost 34 million tones.

 

Heavy supplies and lower prices relative to other ports in the region have drawn buyers to Singapore this year, traders said.