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Sales of bonded bunker fuel in Japan increased by 2.3 percent year-on-year during the month of April, according to data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Japan sold 438,004 kiloliters of bonded bunker fuel in April. The figure was 40,942 kilolitres below the one-year high of 478,946 kilolitres achieved in March, however it was also the first year-on-year rise since September 2009.

Marine fuel demand at Japanse ports has risen since the start of the year partly due to an increase in the number of bulk carriers transporting iron ore and coal, which is in line with the reccent rise in the country's steel output.

Steel output in April was up 56.7 percent to 8.99 million tonnes compared to the corresponding month last year, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation.

The rise in bunker demand is also expected to have resulted in healthy profit margins for Japanese trading houses importing fuel oil cargoes, typically from South Korea, for resale into the local bunker market.

Last month, Japan was estimated to have imported around 30,000 tonnes of high sulphur fuel oil. The East Asian country, which is typically an exporter of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), has seen a rise in imports due to an increase in power plant consumption, in addition to bunker demand.

Marine Diesel Oil

Meanwhile, sales of bonded marine diesel oil decreased by 19.6 percent to 8,963 kilolitres in April 2010, according to government data. The figure was down 2,185 kilolitres from 11,148 kilolitres the previous year.