The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index which tracks
rates to ship dry commodities, rose for a third session on Wednesday helped by
further iron ore exports in Asia
“It has been a more active week with improving
(capesize) rates,” broker Fearnleys said on Wednesday. “We are
presently in the beginning of the last rush before Christmas, the question is
for how long it will last.”
Capesizes, which typically transport 150,000 tonne cargoes
such as iron ore and coal, had driven a recent rally helped by firmer coal and
iron ore exports from Australia and Brazil to China as well as a pick-up in
Japanese coal imports. A build up of port congestion had also provided support.
“The Capesize market is now making a push upwards in
freight rates in both the Pacific and the Atlantic basins. Most of the activity
has been centered on the Pacific, particularly for movements of iron ore from
West Australia to China ” Lorentzen & Stemoco and First Securities
said in a report.
Iron ore shipments account for around a third of seaborne
volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a
key factor for dry freight.
“However We expect the coming days to be considerably
difficult, however, as the Pacific is unlikely to recover soon as Chinese
imports are starting to slow down, while even the Atlantic has showed signs of
weakening,” Greek broker Intermodal said, referring to the outlook for
capesizes.
Source: Reuters
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