South China's fuel oil imports for February 2013 are set to fall 34 percent year-on-year to 190,000 tonnes, according to ICIS C1 estimates.

However the total is 80,000 tonnes, or 73 percent, more than last month, a month when Sinopec Fuel Oil Sales did not import any fuel oil.

The imports, which were said to include fuel oil from the U.S. for the first time, consist of 155,000 tonnes of fuel oil from Singapore and 35,000 tonnes of U.S. fuel oil.

The port of Shenzhen was expected to receive 80,000 tonnes, Huangpu port 70,000 tonnes, ports in Zhuhai 10,000, and Fujian, Hainan, and Guangxi up to 30,000 tonnes.

Market sources were quoted as saying that the relatively high February imports would likely lead to a drop in imports next month.

Deutsch Bank AG has predicted that overall, China's fuel oil demand may fall in 2013 as new government policies discourage its use as a refinery feedstock.