Mumbai bunker fuel suppliers have seen a drop of around 20% in monthly traded volumes from the usual 20,000 mt/month, several sources said Monday.

The drop has meant that volumes have fallen to as low as 13,000-16,000 mt/month, one seller said.

The decline in Mumbai has been attributed to growing competition from Fujairah, where ships have chosen to bunker instead of doing so in Mumbai, while moving oil between the two ports, said one trade source.

Fujairah's prices have been increasingly competitive in the last few months, with sellers selling within Fujairah's port limits also observing a similar drop in volumes, sellers said previously.

The competition is coming from those selling at lower prices outside the port limits of Fujairah and Khor Fakkan, sellers said.

Mumbai's prices were previously around a $10/mt premium over Fujairah's. But given the competitive pricing seen in Fujairah in recent months, this spread has widened to around $25/mt, said a trade source.

On Monday, the Fujairah 380 CST was assessed at $617.50/mt, while the Mumbai 380 CST was assessed at $646.50/mt.

Source: Platts