Speculations of freight rates of capesize vessels going up in the next week along the key Asian routes are rife among ship brokers due to shortage in ships, higher cargo volumes and bad weather in China.
The bad weather in China is likely to cause port congestion and unloading delays.
Recently, there were some slight improvements in the freight rates along the key Asian routes due to increase in shipments of coal to China and India.
Current freight rates (coal cargoes)
| Route | Supramax | Panamax | Capesize |
| Australia to India | 12.5 | 8.5 | 8 |
| South Africa to India | 9 | 8 | 6.5 |
| Indonesia to India | 7 | 6.5 | 5 |
Freights in USD/MT
Source: SteelMint Research
Current freight rates (iron ore cargoes)
| Route | Supramax |
| India to China | 7.5 |
Freights in USD/MT
Source: SteelMint Research
The Baltic Dry Index was recorded higher at 699 points on Thursday due to the recent increase in shipping activity. The index is an indicator of freight rate movements in respect to all classes of vessels transporting all kinds of commodities, including coal and iron ore.
Leave a Reply