Capesize freight rates came under pressures from sluggish demand, with market concerns over softening iron ore and coal prices.
The Capesize 5 time charter average, then fell by $2,371 day-on-day to $37,669 on Thursday, following a series of corrections.
The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) extended losses and dropped by $178, down 4.67% day-on-day, to $3,630, due to softening freight rates.
Bottoming out of Pacific freight rates
Despite the lower freight rates, some trade participants believed that the Pacific Capesize market had bottomed out, due to more enquiries from Japanese and South Korean end-users.
Many of these were coal shipping demand, while there were also some upticks in iron ore shipping demand from mining majors for the key Western Australia to China route.
However, the growing ballaster list depressed freight rates in the Atlantic market, though there were some improvements in shipping demand for key Brazil to China route, and better bauxite shipping demand from West Africa.
Bunker prices slump on mixed market outlook
The bunker prices plunged down sharply over mixed outlook, as the price of VLSFO dropped by $15/mt to $609/mt in the port of Singapore.
Some trade participants expected more supplies to hit the market soon, in view of Iranian crude barrels returning to the market due to warming relations with the European Union (EU).
Moreover, the EU’s power crunch may ease with additional gas from Russia as the latter promised to send in November for winter heating season.
However, the OPEC estimated a huge deficit of crude oil stockpiles among developed countries at 158 million barrels below average, due to production disruption from extreme weather and pandemic. The shortfall was bigger than previous projected deficit at 106 million and may support crude prices further.