Recovery in Asian dry bulk shipping rates
Published February 8, 2006
BT
(SEOUL/TOKYO) Dry bulk shipping rates have bottomed out, and some traders say rates are showing signs of a recovery.
Spot voyage fixtures for modern panamax rates for the benchmark US Gulf to Japan route were assessed at US$32-33 a tonne yesterday, largely unchanged from the end of January.
The shipping market has been relatively quiet recently as many traders in Asia, including China, were absent from the market last week because of the Chinese New Year holiday.
'I think the market is best described as having bottomed out,' a Japanese shipping broker said.
Other traders said ship owners were likely to ask for a higher freight rate.
'Ship owners do not want to accept rates below US$32 because they think the price falls have been too excessive. Now, they are asking for at least US$33-34,' said an official at a South Korean shipping company.
Asian shipping rates have been declining since last October, as more newly built ships have become available.
The outbreak of the deadly bird flu has also crimped feed demand in Asia, leading to slower shipments of feed grains and depressing freight rates.
Sluggish holiday demand ahead of Chinese Lunar New Year prompted rates in late January to fall to around last year's low of US$31 reached in August - half of the year's peak of US$60-65.
Traders said the firmness of the market for capesize vessels in the Atlantic was spilling over, helping to support the panamax market.
'Capesize vessels rates have been drifting up because of a technical rebound. New ships keep coming into service so we need more time to confirm this is a trend, but rates would not go down further from this level,' the official said.
A panamax-class vessel carries 55,000-80,000 tonnes of dry bulk commodities, usually grain, while a capesize vessel carries more than 100,000 tonnes and is predominantly used to carry iron ore and coal.
New crops from South America, such as soya beans from Brazil, begin to head out to global markets in large quantities in March, at times helping to support the freight market.
But traders said it was still too early in the year for new crop shipments to have a significant impact on shipping.
'Markets are expecting shipping activities for South American grain to start to pick up around March and Chinese demand for vessels will recover soon,' another broker said.
In the period market, timecharter rates for the US Gulf to Japan route were assessed around US$16,000 a day to a little higher, against US$15,000-16,000 at the end of January. - Reuters
BT
(SEOUL/TOKYO) Dry bulk shipping rates have bottomed out, and some traders say rates are showing signs of a recovery.
Spot voyage fixtures for modern panamax rates for the benchmark US Gulf to Japan route were assessed at US$32-33 a tonne yesterday, largely unchanged from the end of January.
The shipping market has been relatively quiet recently as many traders in Asia, including China, were absent from the market last week because of the Chinese New Year holiday.
'I think the market is best described as having bottomed out,' a Japanese shipping broker said.
Other traders said ship owners were likely to ask for a higher freight rate.
'Ship owners do not want to accept rates below US$32 because they think the price falls have been too excessive. Now, they are asking for at least US$33-34,' said an official at a South Korean shipping company.
Asian shipping rates have been declining since last October, as more newly built ships have become available.
The outbreak of the deadly bird flu has also crimped feed demand in Asia, leading to slower shipments of feed grains and depressing freight rates.
Sluggish holiday demand ahead of Chinese Lunar New Year prompted rates in late January to fall to around last year's low of US$31 reached in August - half of the year's peak of US$60-65.
Traders said the firmness of the market for capesize vessels in the Atlantic was spilling over, helping to support the panamax market.
'Capesize vessels rates have been drifting up because of a technical rebound. New ships keep coming into service so we need more time to confirm this is a trend, but rates would not go down further from this level,' the official said.
A panamax-class vessel carries 55,000-80,000 tonnes of dry bulk commodities, usually grain, while a capesize vessel carries more than 100,000 tonnes and is predominantly used to carry iron ore and coal.
New crops from South America, such as soya beans from Brazil, begin to head out to global markets in large quantities in March, at times helping to support the freight market.
But traders said it was still too early in the year for new crop shipments to have a significant impact on shipping.
'Markets are expecting shipping activities for South American grain to start to pick up around March and Chinese demand for vessels will recover soon,' another broker said.
In the period market, timecharter rates for the US Gulf to Japan route were assessed around US$16,000 a day to a little higher, against US$15,000-16,000 at the end of January. - Reuters
posted by SmartYInvestor at 6:39 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home