Dry bulk FFA market: Freight market rebounds after long holidays

By Wednesday, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) jumped to 1,950 points, up 86 points on-day, recovering from one-month low of 1,712 points since 7 August.

The dip in BDI was partly affected by the holidays of Hari Raya Haji and the National Day in Singapore, then typhoon off China’s coast that brought disruption to vessels movements.

Typhoon delays vessels at the Pacific

So far, the powerful Typhoon Lekima had relocated around 2 million people across nine provinces in China, bringing the death toll to 49 since making landfalls on last Saturday and Monday.

The worst seemed to be over for the typhoon, but it had caused a mess in shipping lanes off eastern coast of China and the Pacific region.

According to trade sources, the direct impact of the typhoon had delayed shipments around 2-4 days.

Capesize FFA picks up after long holidays

Higher iron ore prices had prompted an uptick in capesize paper market right after the public holiday in Singapore.

As more market participants returned on Tuesday to trade in the FFA market and cargoes out of Western Australia continued to lend support for the paper market.

On Wednesday, the capesize 5 time charter average rose by $1,343 on-day to $27,455 and up $3,045 since Monday.

Flurry of buying for panamax

The capesize’s uplift was extended to panamax paper market as well, which saw an increase in buying activities throughout the week.

On Wednesday, the panamax time charter average went up by $725 on-day to $16,708 and higher than $15,440 recorded on Monday.

The smaller ladies moved in similar fashion with the supramax time charter average recorded at $11,136 on Wednesday, up $62 on-day, while the handysize time charter average booked $7,713, up $8 on-day.