Surging iron prices have taken a hit from signs the Chinese government could act on complaints from Chinese steel mills that market manipulation by futures traders is squeezing their profit margins. Iron ore futures, which hit a five-year high last week, fell almost 4 per cent late Friday after a top official representing China’s powerful steel industry said Beijing was preparing to crackdown on soaring prices. Dual-listed shares in Australian miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell sharply in London on news that China’s top steelmakers had formed a working ...

Capesize The Capesize market surged over the past week, reaching highs not seen since August last year. Widespread activity in both basins saw a week on week lift of $7,084 to settle at $26,444. As usual, this volatile rise was initially Atlantic Basin lead. Black Sea iron ore fronthaul cargoes supplied the sparking tinder, which took a toll on the already sparse Atlantic tonnage supply. Higher transatlantic rates ensued. The Brazil to China C3 route supplied a timely and healthy amount of cargoes to aggravate the tonnage imbalance. The Pacific ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose more than 2 percent on Friday, its best week in nearly five years, mainly fuelled by strong demand for vessels that ship iron ore from Brazil. * The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, rose 40 points, or 2.4%, to 1,740 points, its highest since early August last year. * The main index has risen 28% this week, its best week since week-ending Aug. 15, 2014. * The index, which reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax ...

With just eight weeks left in the current marketing year, US soybean exports could be on pace to top government forecasts, but corn may have a tougher time meeting the expectations. Data published on Wednesday by the US Census Bureau showed that May corn reached 4.7 million tonnes, the smallest for that month in six years. Total corn exports since the 2018-19 marketing year began on Sept. 1 were up 4% on the year at 43.6 million tonnes by the end of May, down 10 percentage points from the September-April ...

Today, Friday, July 05 2019, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 40 points, reaching 1740 points.

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index jumped 9.7% to its highest in more than 10 months on Thursday, driven by a surge in capesize and panamax rates, with rising iron ore prices fuelling the increase in rates for the larger vessels. * The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, rose 151 points, or 9.7%, to 1,700 points, its highest since Aug. 23, 2018. * The index, which reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, has risen for 15 straight sessions. * The capesize ...

The dry bulk market remains a conundrum for those involved, as the course of freight rates hasn’t been all about fundamentals, with more factors entering into play. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “having reach the midpoint of the year, it seems to be as good point as any to reflect on what we have seen in the year so far in the troubled dry bulk market. If we just take a moment and observe the current levels of the main dry bulk indices, we would ...

China’s thermal coal demand is likely to fall once the world’s longest ultra-high voltage transmission line is completed by the Asian country, market sources said Thursday. China has launched its 3,324-km long transmission line that connects the coal-rich Xinjiang province in western China to Anhui province in the country’s east, Xinhua News Agency, China’s official news agency, reported Tuesday. Once completed, the transmission line is expected to reduce Chinese coal usage by about 30 million mt/y, according to the report. “In the past, it was difficult to transport coal out ...

Today, Thursday, July 04 2019, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 151 points, reaching 1700 points.

Today, Wednesday, July 03 2019, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 103 points, reaching 1549 points.

Today, Tuesday, July 02 2019, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 65 points, reaching 1446 points.

Despite the improving market conditions over the course of the second quarter of 2019, the negative impact of the first few months of the year are still felt throughout the industry. Nevertheless, ship owners’ restrain when it comes to adding more tonnage in the market, is expected to partly offset the fall in cargo demand and demolition activity. In its monthly update on Capesize outlook, shipbroker Banchero Costa commented that “spot charter rates for Capesize bulkers started very poorly in 1Q2019 but started to strongly recover in 2Q2019. In the ...

Iron ore exports from Australia are set to post the first annual drop in almost two decades following bad weather and output setbacks, worsening a global shortage and bolstering prices that have already surged to a five-year high. Futures advanced. The world’s top shipper cut its 2019 forecast to 814 million tons from 867 million in March and boosted its estimate for this year’s average price by almost 20%, according to a report by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science on Monday. That would be the first contraction since ...

A cargo ship docked at a port south of Sydney last month carried a highly unusual product: wheat. The shipment from Canada was a surprising event for Australia, which has long been one of the world’s biggest grain suppliers. But a severe drought in eastern Australia has caused a sharp decline in exports and supplies. Australia’s grain crop last year fell 20 per cent to 30 million tonnes. This included 17 million tonnes of wheat, the lowest in a decade. The country’s wheat exports last year were worth A$4.1 billion ...

Today, Monday, July 01 2019, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 27 points, reaching 1381 points.