The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, edged up on Monday as rates for the larger capesize vessel segment rebounded. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, gained 7 points, to 1,542. The capesize index was up 32 points, or about 1.7%, to 1,945 – its biggest one-day rise since March 14. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased $267 to $16,134. The panamax index ...

Mid-sized bulkers are expected to take advantage of more favorable demand conditions moving forward, in terms of grain trade. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “following the latest report on World Markets and Trade, USDA raised its forecast for global wheat production in 2022/2023 by 5 million MT. More specifically, global wheat production is seen at 788.94 million MT, as production increases in Russia, Australia, and Canada, are offsetting reduced outputs in Argentina, US and Ukraine. Global trade is seen overall higher, underpinned by higher exports from ...

China’s average daily coal imports from Russia rose in the first two months of 2023 compared with December, boosted by strong restocking demand as Beijing lifted its zero-COVID regime, but logistics bottlenecks still capped shipments. Arrivals of Russian coal reached 14.8 million tonnes, or 250,892 tonnes per day, during January and February, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday, making Russia China’s second-biggest coal supplier. That compares to 222,346 tonnes per day in December and 110,470 tonnes per day over the first two months in 2022. China ...

Russia said on Monday it would not agree in May to the renewal of a deal allowing for the export of grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports unless issues around the Swift financial messaging system are resolved and other restrictions are lifted. In a statement posted on its website, the Russian foreign ministry said Moscow had decided to limit the extension of the deal to 60 days, until May 18, over what it called “a lack of progress… on normalisation of domestic agricultural exports”. The deal, brokered last July by ...

China’s soybean imports from the U.S. rose 15.4% in the first two months of this year, data showed on Monday, as delays in harvesting in top supplier Brazil prompted buyers to seek more U.S. beans. The world’s top buyer of soybeans, China bought 11.59 million tonnes of the oilseed from the United States, up from 10.04 million tonnes a year ago, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. Imports from Brazil, meanwhile, fell 36% to 2.24 million tonnes. Rain delayed the harvest in key growing regions in Brazil and ...

Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures declined on Monday after China’s state planner issued another warning against speculation in the market and fresh production curbs were imposed in major Chinese steel cities. China’s National Development and Reform Commission said on Friday it would look yet again at measures to curb “unreasonable” iron ore prices and urged trading firms to avoid hoarding and inflating prices. Tangshan, China’s top steel production hub, said on Monday it would launch a level 2 emergency response after heavy air pollution was forecast for this week. ...

India should extend a ban on wheat exports in place since last year to help ensure lower domestic prices and sufficient stocks for consumers, a flour millers’ industry body said. Exports of the grain from India, the world’s second biggest producer, surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosted global prices, but a sudden rise in temperatures in March 2022 shrivelled the crop and cut yields, pushing local prices higher. India imposed a ban in May last year, within days of promising to supply large quantities of the grain to a ...

Capesize The Capesize lifted $2,401 for its time charter average on Tuesday, but failed to keep up the uprising trend throughout the week. It closed at $15,867, which is still an improvement week-on-week. The Atlantic basin cooled off in the middle of the week with limited cargoes lending further support. The fronthaul run eventually slipped beneath $30,000 on Friday. In the Pacific, the backhaul run was one step away from coming back to positive territory and is currently marked at -$333. The west Australia to Qingdao run climbed above $9, ...

Capesize The Capesize lifted $2,401 for its time charter average on Tuesday, but failed to keep up the uprising trend throughout the week. It closed at $15,867, which is still an improvement week-on-week. The Atlantic basin cooled off in the middle of the week with limited cargoes lending further support. The fronthaul run eventually slipped beneath $30,000 on Friday. In the Pacific, the backhaul run was one step away from coming back to positive territory and is currently marked at -$333. The west Australia to Qingdao run climbed above $9, ...

China’s economic recovery appears to be on track, but is unevenly spread across sectors, which is likely to result in a similar pattern for its imports of major commodities. A slew of data from the world’s second-biggest economy showed some encouraging signs of a recovery in industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment. Industrial output rose 2.4% in the first two months of 2023 from the same period last year, retail sales jumped 3.5%, while fixed-asset investment gained 5.5%. China publishes combined January and February data to smooth out distortions ...

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, which covers exports of agricultural products from Ukrainian Black Sea ports has been extended, representatives of Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations said March 18. The deal was brokered to enable shipments critical of global food supplies from Ukraine to resume after they were disrupted by Russia’s invasion. Russia — the other key signatory to the deal — has not yet confirmed the extension. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Black Sea grain corridor agreement had been extended, the Anadolu news agency reported. ...

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday pushed back against foreign media claims of Chinese “trade curbs” against Australian coal imports, saying such misleading claims are inappropriate and China’s automatic permit management system for coal imports is functioning normally. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that China has removed “all remaining curbs” on Australian coal imports, which signals “an end to trade restrictions imposed in late 2020.” The report cited unidentified people “familiar with the decision.” The news drew widespread attention amid growing expectations for improving bilateral ties. Asked about the report ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index dipped on Friday on weaker demand for capesize and panamax vessels, although gained for a fourth consecutive week. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, lost 25 points, or about 1.6%, at 1,535. The index, however, was up 7.8% for the week. The capesize index fell 63 points, or about 3.2%, to 1,913, although gained 9.7% for the week. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased ...

U.S. grain and oilseed export prospects had started to sour over the last several weeks with sales slumping, but hefty corn purchases by China and even some old-crop soybean business has somewhat rejuvenated the U.S. market. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday made its third consecutive announcement of old-crop U.S. corn sales to China, totaling 1.92 million tonnes over three days. Corn sales to China had not flashed on consecutive days since May 2021, and the last corn flash to China before this week was in August. The latest ...

Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures rose slightly on Friday as concerns over brewing banking turmoil eased, though a potential limit on steel production in China this year capped further gains. The most-traded May iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 0.4% higher at 915 yuan ($133.10) a tonne. It was, however, headed for its first weekly loss in six weeks, having fallen more than 2% from last week. On the Singapore Exchange, the steelmaking ingredient’s benchmark April contract SZZFJ3 was up 0.5% at $129.85 a ...