Capesize rates had a meteoric rise for the week, jumping from $13,000 base level to over $25,000 level by the end of week on good shipping demand.
The Capesize 5 time charter average made a gain of $231 day-on-day to $25,511 on Friday, spotting one of the smallest gains of the week as compared to $5,000-$6,000 daily gains seen earlier, due to profit-taking on the paper market
Therefore, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) achieved another year high at 1,555 points, spotting a small jump of 1.83% day-on-day.
Half-time for freight rally
The softening of the paper market had also prompted a cooling-off effect on the physical market after a rally for almost three weeks.
However, there was still healthy shipping demand in the Pacific market, though freight rates started to dip after some trades conducted at lower levels.
Overall, the indicative freight heard on the west coast Australia to Qingdao route was in the $8.60/wmt to $9/ wmt range.
Some freight softening was also seen in the Atlantic market for the key Brazil to China route, where some charterers were heard to be holding back from fixtures.
Meanwhile, mining major, Vale was heard to be seeking vessels toward the second half of July and for first-half August laycans.
Small gains for bunker prices amid oversupply
VLSFO prices rebounded after a recent correction, as the VLSFO prices rose by $6/mt to $335/mt at the port of Singapore.
The small gains of VLSFO bunker prices was due to softening bunker margins from oversupply of marine fuels in bunker hubs that estimated to take around 2-3 months to clear.
In the meantime, the Brent crude prices stayed firm at the $42 per barrel level, while the WTI moved slightly down toward $39 per barrel level.