Singapore November bunker sales jumped 6.8 percent from October, driven higher by sales of 180-centistoke (cst) fuel oil, and two percent from November 2002, data on Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) Web site showed.
The MPA said bunker sales reached 18.891 million tonnes for January through November 2003, up from 18.348 million tonnes in the same period of 2002.
In 2002, Singapore sold a total of 20.096 million tonnes of bunker fuel.
Bunker sales in November rose 117,600 tonnes to 1.853 million tonnes from 1.736 million tonnes in October, the data showed.
The gross tonnage of all the ships that refuelled in Singapore rose by 731,000 tonnes in November to about 50.7 million tonnes, even though the number of vessels fell by seven to 1,794.
In contrast, gross tonnage fell in October 598,000 tonnes to 50.0 million tonnes.
Traders have said year-end bunker sales are expected to be flat from 2002 on thin overall fourth-quarter demand and increased competition from Malaysia's Tanjong Pelapas port.
Average monthly bunker sales in the nearby Malaysian port of Tanjong Pelapas are estimated at 50,000-80,000 tonnes, up sharply from 2002, when the smaller port sold about 30,000-50,000 tonnes of bunker a month, traders in Singapore have said.