ShipShape: The Long and Winding Road

It is one of the best-known Beatles songs from their final studio album Let It Be, but it also encapsulates perfectly the challenge many commodity markets face as they begin to recover from the enormous disruption of Coronavirus.   The pandemic has impacted every metric you can think of: quantitative easing, government debt, unemployment, share …

FIS Castaway – Eps.12 – Unprecedented Coverage in Unprecedented Times

This week the group discuss supply and demand in crude, freight, iron ore, and copper markets. We explore the reasons behind the freight markets jump, oil’s crawl upwards, and iron ore’s price stall, among other market news and trends. https://freightinvestorservices.com/blog/fis-castaway-eps-12-unprecedented-coverage-in-unprecedented-times/

The Baltic Dry Index – ray of hope or footnote in history?

COVID-19 will haunt a generation. Be it from personal loss of friends or family members, loss of employment or the loss of an investment. With nearly 8 million cases worldwide the pandemic has shown no sign of slowing down.   Global cases worldwide (source Bloomberg) Infection cases may continue to rise, creating further havoc for …

Iron ore futures fall as players take profits

Iron ore futures slumped on Thursday following some profit-taking activities as market participants turned cautious.   The iron ore market has seen great volatility, pushing towards $100 on supply concerns following disruptions in Brazil as well as strong demand from China.   The Dalian Exchange issued a notice earlier this week, urging member brokerages to …

Capesize – Even Poor Summers give some Sunshine

2020 is taking the phrase annus horribilis to a new level for the Capesize 5tc market. The big sisters rarely have anything to celebrate in the first few months of the year, like a tourist spot emerging from lockdown, owners know that they to make hay when the sun is shining.     Index values …

Iron Ore Futures Consolidate on Supply Outlook

Dalian Iron ore futures have failed for a third day to break the high RMB 775 high that formed on the 01/06/20, bringing a halt to the previous 4-day rally after repeated warnings from financial institutions that the current supply tightness will ease in the later months of the year.     Vale intend to …

Iron ore keeps up top table pressure

Iron ore futures advanced on Wednesday as investors gauged over short-term iron ore supply.   On one hand, Australian miners have been going flat out and the country may be shipping in record volumes. According to initial tally compiled by Bloomberg, shipments from Australia were up by 3.2 million tonnes in May year-on-year to 79.7 …