Capesize freight rates rose again on better shipping demand with much improvement seen in the Atlantic market.
The Capesize 5 time charter average then went up by $3,533 day-on-day to $21,131 on Friday, with both basins in fixing big rates.
The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) also hiked up by 10.91% or 158 points to 1,606 readings, due to better freight rates.
More shipping demand in the Atlantic market
Freight rates improved in the Atlantic market significantly, due to support of fronthaul trips and tighter tonnage in the late-Jan and early-Feb loading window.
However, some trade sources expected more tonnage to be available after early February onward, especially for the east coast of Canada.
In contrast, the Pacific market was rather muted but major miners like Rio Tinto and FMG remained active in seeking vessels in the Western Australia to Qingdao route.
Some trade sources expected some freight rate support, due to the bad weather conditions in North China that caused port closures and disrupted shipping activities.
Higher bunker prices continue to support freight rates
The higher bunker prices lent some support for the firmer freight rates as the price of VLSFO rose by $2/mt to $435/mt at the port of Singapore.
The strength of bunker prices was attributed to the recent rally in crude oil prices as Brent crude oil prices rose toward $55 per barrel market, due to the production cut from Saudi Arabia.
In the meantime, there were a flurry of crude buying activities from Chinese refiners like Sinopec Group which bought four crude shipments via its trading arm, Unipec recently.