Capesize freight rates started the week sluggishly, due to thinner market activities and cyclone concerns.
The Capesize 5 time charter average then slipped by $159 day-on-day to $15,516 on Monday, due to low trading volume and little buying interests.
The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) dipped slightly by 0.55 % day-on-day or 8 points to 1,452 readings on lower shipping demand.
Slow market activities ahead of Lunar New Year
Most Chinese mills had completed their pre-Lunar New Year restocking, which limited the amount of fresh enquiries in the Pacific basin.
Besides, market participants were concerned over the cyclone development at the west coast of Australia, which caused major miners to pull back their loading windows.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic market continued to be affected by the lengthy ballasters list that depressed freight rates and caused the market to move in backwardation.
Bunker prices recover on tighter crude stocks
The bunker prices rebounded on the volatile market, as the price of VLSFO recovered and bounced up by $3/mt to $454/mt at the port of Singapore.
Oil demand got a boost from a weekly drawdown of 2.3 million barrels in the US crude inventories that lifted crude oil prices.
Furthermore, the market expected tighter US inventories over the next few weeks, while major oil refiner, Saudi Aramco foresees oil demand to return to pre-Covid level later this year.
However, the global oil demand was not out of the wood yet, due to slow rollout of vaccines and rising resurgence of Covid cases among countries.