The Supramax shipping market in the Continent and Baltic Sea regions experienced a weak trading week from October 14th to 18th. This was primarily due to a decrease in the number of available cargoes, which resulted in lower overall trading activity, reports S&P Global.
Sluggish Activity
The market experienced sluggish activity for the week, and prices seemed to decrease. However, there was a spike, making prices firmer midweek, but they mostly fell Oct. 18.
“There was a wave of scrap which pushed [the] market up with a few operators…stuck with orders and had to pay up to perform. Ultramax ships priced around $18,000/d and Supramax at $16,000/d,” a charterer said. “It will not sustain, next week it will come off as most orders are covered already.”
UK- Baltic Sea
The weakening momentum was mostly due to limited cargo availability, against an increasing tonnage list, which led to the overall drop week on week.
The latest figures showed more negative sentiment in the Continental region, with 91 laden ships and 45 ballasting, data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea showed .
US-East Coast
In the North Atlantic, stronger fundamentals for US East Coast trans-Atlantic runs supported the spot market with tonnage supply still balanced and only minimal activity reported.
The latest figures demonstrated a strong supply balance at a spread of 11 more laden Supramax ships than ballasters in Week 42, with CAS data showing 15 laden ships against four ballasting ships.
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Source: S&P Global
