(Corrects volume in fourth paragraph to 53,900 tonnes from 53.9 million tonnes)
SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Singapore marine fuel sales rose to an eight-month high in January on higher vessel arrivals for the month, official data showed on Wednesday.
Total volumes for January stood around 3.79 million tonnes, up 4.5 percent from the previous month, according to data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
Sales of the 380-centistoke (cst) grade, which accounts for about 70-80 percent of total sales, rose 3 percent from December to 2.93 million tonnes.
Sales of low sulphur marine fuels, included in the data for the first time, account for around 1.4 percent, or 53,900 tonnes, of the total monthly sales.
Demand for low sulphur marine fuels have risen, as regulations require ships entering the Emission Control Area in North America to burn the cleaner fuel.
Vessel arrivals into Singapore for the month rose to an eight-month high of 197 million gross tonnes (GT), the MPA data showed. (Reporting by Lee Yen Nee Editing by James Jukwey)