Owners of Capesize tonnage continue to insist that enquiry is high and charterers are putting in new orders despite the fact that average rates continue to slide across the board. Whether the corrections will persist into the week ahead remains to be seen, but a stronger wave of demand would be needed to soak up the plentiful avails that are awash in both hemispheres, presenting challenges to owners who were hoping to lock in some last-minute business before the summer months start to bring a lull in earnest.
Lo and behold, it would appear that Panamax trends are starting to stabilize on the day-to-day spot market. Or at least the beginning of the week saw daily declines slow to a trickle in both hemispheres as TARVs steadied in the US$ 9,000s and front haul trips seemed to have lost the desire to drift below US$ 19,000 daily. There are even a few rumours of new demand in Southeast Asia, pushing rates into modest positivity based on early June positions. Indo rounds on Kamsarmaxes are in the US$ 8,000s.
USG front hauls are giving Atlantic Supramaxes just enough hope for a recovery as charterers continue to concede US$ 23-24,000 daily levels without trying to apply any more pressure on last-done levels. Black Sea front hauls, meanwhile, are still mildly bearish as US$ 18,000s have drifted into the US$ 17,000s over the past week. NoPac RVs seem to have reached the bottom level of their current business cycle with high US$ 8,000s seen on modern tonnage of 58,000 dwt along with more than US$9,500 on Ultramaxes.
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