Coal news and updates

The performance of the capesize segment pushed dry bulk market to upward last week

The Dry Bulk market continued its upward movement last week, with the BDI closing off on Friday (26 June) in excess of 800 points, while the performance of the Capesize segment was the main driver behind this movement.

According to Intermodal ship broker, the million dollar question is without a doubt whether this latest positive reversal is going to turn into a rally with strong legs. It is certainly nice to see earnings for Capes being in excess of $10,000/day but we remain skeptical as long as the rest of the market keeps moving sideways and even in the case of Capes we will need to see rates being sustained at current levels for an extended period of time to safely say that fundamentals point towards a healthier market compared to what have been experiencing from last year up until recently.

The Greece based ship broker further noted that, the Capesize segment remained the strongest link despite the fact that activity was overall slower this time round, while the second half of the week and the beginning of this one saw a quiet market with very little fresh business being reported. At the same time, the period market also slid quietly into the weekend, with fewer fixtures compared to the week prior but slightly improved numbers.

Panamax orders ex-ECSA combined with scarcity of tonnage from the Continent, supported the Atlantic market last week, while the Pacific Panamax was softer across most routes in the region, the broker noted on Panamax.

Commenting on small segment, the broker said that, the Atlantic Handysize/ Handymax/ Supramax market remained stable for a second week in a row, with market talk of positive sentiment being intense. At the same time, things in the Pacific moved sideways, while rates ex-Continent moved slightly down.

source: http://www.coalspot.com