German shipping industry heavily impacted by coronavirus pandemic

Revenues of German shipping companies declined by 30 to 40 percent on average in March and April, according to a company survey published by the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR) on Tuesday. At the same time, 44 percent of shipping companies were already recording a “substantial impairment” of their liquidity, according to the survey among 50 …

Capesize continues the good run with better demand

Capesize market rebound to better shipping demand, with improving freight rates in both the Atlantic and Pacific basins. Thus, the Capesize 5 time charter average rose by $587 to $3,462 on Tuesday, as some trade participants believed that the market had bottomed out. Buoyed by the better Capesize market, the Baltic Dry Index rose over …

Capesize extends positive run on better bunker prices

Capesize market continued its positive run with more fixings and stronger Pacific market that drove better freight rates. As such, the Capesize 5 time charter average rose by $481 to $2,875 on Monday, as some trade participants were heard to do “bottom picking” after another round of short covering. Driven by better Capesize rates, the …

China construction in the bubble, iron ore demand risk remains

Ferrous Sector Money Flow: DCE iron ore aggregated open interest is up 38.97% from April 29th and reached the highest level in Q2, coking coal decreased by 18.55% during the same period. Steel, coke and flat glass used in house construction remained stable on open interest. Investors should be aware of money flow out of …

China Mulls Targeting Australian Wine, Dairy on Coronavirus Spat

Australian exports of wine, seafood, oatmeal, fruit and dairy are in danger of being targeted by China if Beijing decides to escalate a row over Canberra’s calls for an investigation into the origin of Covid-19, according to people familiar with the matter Chinese officials have compiled a list of potential goods that it could target …

Commodities Bounce Back on Chinese Stimulus Anticipation and Vaccine Hopes

Freight prices jumped on Monday with front month Capesize futures up over 10% on anticipation of a large stimulus package out of China later this week. This created a knock-on effect into the smaller vessels with the Panamax front month futures up over 5%. Oil futures performed well with a USD 3.00 move higher, as …

Capesize turns the corner with robust Pacific routes

Capesize market seemed to turn around on better freight rates in key routes as cargoes volume returned. Thus, the Capesize 5 time charter average recorded at $2,394 on Friday, up by $402 day-on-day. Despite the rebound, Capesize rates were still almost in historical all time low, thus it may be too early to conclude that …

China Home-Price Growth Accelerates in Property Market Boost

China’s house-price growth accelerated in April as the central bank’s credit easing gave the property market a much-needed lift out of the coronavirus shutdown. * New-home prices in 70 major cities, excluding state-subsidized housing, gained 0.42% in April, National Bureau of Statistics data released Monday showed. That’s up from a 0.13% increase in March. * …

Bulk Shipping ‘At The Very Bottom’ as Carrier Earnings Plunge

Vessels carrying dry bulk commodities are struggling to make a profit because of the double hit of lower seasonal demand for cargoes and the Covid-19 pandemic that’s wrecking trade and industrial activity worldwide. “We’re really at the very bottom for dry bulk,” William Fairclough, managing director of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings Ltd., one of …

Sub-$2,000 a new norm for Capesize

Capesize market seemed to dive to a new low with each passing days, prompting trade participants to think if the market has bottomed or another V-shape recovery is around the corner. Gone are the heydays of the boom days when spot cape was trading high toward $200,000 per day in the 2008 and instead the …