SINGAPORE - Marine fuel sales at the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah fell to a six-month low in May, latest data showed, as tighter inventories capped uptake while lower prices at neighbouring port Khor Fakkan also drew some demand away, trade sources said.

May bunker volumes at the world's third largest bunkering port, excluding lubricants, totalled 615,462 cubic metres (about 610,000 metric tons), hitting the lowest since November, based on Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Sales for May dipped 3.7% from April and were down 0.8% from the same month last year, posting its first year-on-year decline and snapping four straight months of annual increases.

Onshore inventories of heavy distillates and residues were lower in May as more fuel oil supplies were diverted to cater to power generation demand for summer.

Meanwhile, lower bunker prices at regional Khor Fakkan port also drew some demand away from Fujairah, some sources said, with prices cheaper by about $5 per metric ton in some cases.

Low-sulphur bunker sales of residual fuels and marine gasoils totalled 451,569 cubic metres at Fujairah in May, down 3.3% from April.

Meanwhile, high-sulphur bunker sales dipped 4.6% from April to 163,893 cubic metres in May.

The market share of low-sulphur bunkers was stable from last month at 73% while high-sulphur bunkers was at 27%.

Bunker sales at Fujairah reached their highest in more than a year in March this year, after Red Sea events disrupted shipping routes and buoyed refuelling demand globally.

Fujairah bunker sales by month, in cubic metres, excluding lubricants:

Month Total Sales M-o-M Y-o-Y Jan-24 674,632 2.40% 6.60% Feb-24 633,436 -6.10% 10.70% Mar-24 700,918 10.70% 25.20% Apr-24 638,960 -8.80% 7.10% May-24 * 615,462 -3.70% -0.80%

Monthly bunker sales by grade, in cubic metres:

Month 180cst LSFO 380cst LSFO 380cst HSFO MGO LSMGO Lubricants Jan-24 341 436,604 207,124 122 30,441 4,372 Feb-24 1,000 407,799 192,753 210 31,674 4,420 Mar-24 924 463,245 198,273 321 38,155 5,171 Apr-24 742 434,918 171,841 634 30,825 3,734 May-24 * 464 422,659 163,893 61 28,385 4,592

Data source: Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights (1 cubic metre = 6.29 barrels) (1 metric ton = 6.35 barrels for fuel oil)

(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Rashmi Aich)