Capesize rates strengthen by better iron ore demand

Capesize market spiked further upward due to improving shipping fundamentals and higher iron ore demand. Due to the good physical market, the Capesize 5 time charter average rose by $1,054 day-on-day to $5,247 on Wednesday. In view of the strong Capesize market, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) reached to a three-week high to 592 ratings, …

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 …

Capesize firms on better fundamentals

Capesize rates firmed up with improvements seen in both the Pacific and Atlantic basins on better shipping demand.   Higher bunker prices also lent support to the rising freight rates that pushed the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) higher to 546 points, up 5% day-on-day on Tuesday.   Good fundamentals in Pacific market   The Pacific …

Iron ore “could continue to test new highs”

Iron ore futures rallied above $98 on Tuesday on better Chinese outlook and ongoing supply concerns from Brazil. Iron ore port inventories have fallen to a four-year low as China moved past the coronavirus pandemic, prompting Chinese steel mills to ramp up output, boosting demand for iron ore.   The latest Purchasing Manager’s Index for …

Capesize rates hike up amid European holidays

Capesize rates gained slightly despite holidays across Europe that took off several players out of the market. Despite of thin trading, the Capesize 5 time charter average hiked by $279 to $3,648 on Monday, without any noticeable change in the physical market. In the meantime, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) had gained steadily to 520 …

Iron ore consolidation points to potential reversal

Ferrous Sector Money-flow: DCE iron ore aggregated open interest reached a high at 1.18 million lots on February 21 as well as creating periodic high, following a correction of 19.26%. The open interest high last week was 1.15 million lots. Long positions need to be aware of the similar correction happen for the second time …

Iron ore soars on China recovery, supply fears

Iron ore futures soared on Monday after latest data indicated that China is recovering robustly from the coronavirus pandemic.    The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Manager for May came in at 50.7, better than both market estimates and the reading of previous month of 49.6 and 49.4 respectively, indicating that China is expanding faster than expected. …

Capesize rates gains despite mixed market outlook

Market participants were in doubt if the Capesize market would continue to enjoy higher rates over potential supply outages from Brazil. The expected lower volume from Brazil was met with high iron ore prices that firmed up rates as the Capesize 5 time charter average jumped by $141 to $3,369 on Friday. The jump was …

Oil tries again to accentuate the positives

Brent crude was unchanged at $37.84 a barrel, in the first day of trading in the contract with August as the front month. WTI crude futures for July delivery were at $35.53 a barrel, up 4 cents, or 0.1%, by 0629 GMT. OPEC+ is set to discuss a short extension of its current output cuts, …

Capesize rates drag by long tonnage list

Sluggish Pacific and Atlantic had dragged down Capesize rates and reversed much of the gains that occurred in previous week. By Thursday, the Capesize 5 time charter average went down further by $558 to $3,228, despite more buyers entry at the afternoon session in trying to lift the market. Given the volatile Capesize rates and …