Fearnleys Weekly - Dry bulk
Chartering - Handy
The Atlantic market has been flat this week. Rates are up abt Usd 200 from last week on the TA’s, but the volumes are about the same. In the Feast it remains quiet and flat due to an oversupply of tonnage. NoPac rounds are being fixed in region of Usd 8,500 – 9k bss North China delivery. SE Asia rounds are being traded in the mid 7k’s. Short period marked is quiet but some Ultramaxes with good specs are being fixed in the 12k rge.
Chartering - Panamax
The long anticipated uptick in rates towards the end of the year is continuing. The activity has picked up dramatically in both hemispheres. We see a lot more coal being shipped, both trans-Atlantic into the continent and in the pacific the increase is mainly into India. A steady flow of grains out of US West Coast and the US Gulf is topping it off to ensure a healthy rate increase over the last week. In the Atlantic a panamax now gets around USD 10000 daily, and the Pacific is even stronger where nopac rounds are fixed as high as USD 13000. Fronthaul now pay around 18000 with delivery Gibraltar. A few period fixtures has been reported, we now see ships fix for 1 yr at around usd 10000 per day.
Chartering - Capesize
Toppish or just taking a breather after a period of extreme improvement? Daily spot returns for the standard 180000-tonners have more than doubled in 2 weeks, and the last 7 days alone have added some 60% to value, now standing at an average of usd 26k/day. With coal being a minor factor only, the rally has been driven almost entirely by major miners' need to carry iron ore from Brazil and West Australia. As the number of spot ships available is now dramatically reduced, continued high spot demand may result in rate curves turning exponential - verdict will be given in the next few days. Clouding this picture somewhat is the fact that FFA levels have improved modestly in comparison, resulting in substantial gaps between period levels bid vs offered and nothing concluded.