VLCC rates faced bearish pressure but rebounded slightly; Suezmax saw mixed trends with late-week stabilization; Aframax remained quiet; MR markets showed resilience with end-week recoveries in rates, reports crweber.
VLCC
With many industry players travelling for the Bahri event in Dubai,expectations were for a busier period, as we have seen markets rise over the last couple of years. This week started quietly with lots of bearish commentary in Dubai as sluggish USG exports kept rates soft for most of the week. However, an end week influx of inquiry and resistance from Owners pushed TA rates from the USG back up above the $3.0 mil level, but with still sour fundamentals, questions have arisen if these levels are sustainable. We will see next week.
Suezmax
A rather dismal week for the Suezmax in West Africa as disjointed tonnage fundamentals coupled with diminishing sentiment in alternative load regions assisted Charterers in successfully testing rates down 7.5 points on the week-to-week comparison. The TD20 route finished the week at ws75-77.5 levels but has appeared to have found some stabilization late in the week off the back of stronger returns getting concluded in alternative ballast load regions and improved tonnage fundamentals in the West. In the Americas, Suezmax demand was limited as rates continued their downward spiral off the back of a sputtering Aframax sector and weaker returns throughout the Atlantic Basin.
However, this downward trend took a U-turn late in the week which helped delete market losses taken earlier. Rates for USG>UKCM initially slipped 12.5 pts but rebounded on Friday back up to ws57.5-60 levels (basis 145k MT). The Guyana>UKCM continues to closely shadow the TD20 route and is currently pegged at ws75 (basis 130k MT) with a firmer undertone going into next week. BDTI – TD20 ended the week settling at 75.11, which is down (-8.61) from this time last week.
Aframax
market was quiet this week, allowing more tonnage to stack up throughout the area. Cargoes that did get done chipped away at rates with each fixture.
Transatlantic routes were projected at ws130 by the end of the week while any cargoes out of ECMEX should go for around ws120 or less (all basis 70k MT). The fourth quarter has yet to produce like previous years, however with the holidays approaching, we could see things start to turn the other way.
MR
The CONT market had another uneventful week, to put it mildly. While there were plenty of cargos available, not many deals were struck, and those that did materialize were far from impressive, mostly hovering in the ws85-90 range for 37k MT. On the other hand, the US market saw some improvement this week following a sharp decline the previous week. Rates started the week with a significant drop on Monday but remained relatively busy through to Friday. For TC14, the week began around 38 x ws160 but slid down to ws135 by mid-week, before making a slight recovery to ws160 by Friday. TC18 also saw some movement, initially dipping from ws210 to ws180, then bouncing back to ws200 by week’s end. The USG/CBS route started around the $600k mark, dropped to $400k, and then recovered to $535k by Friday. As we head into the weekend, owners are showing signs of resistance to the softer market, which has helped stabilize rates closer to last week’s levels. There is a renewed sense of optimism among owners, however, let us see if this momentum holds up in the coming week.
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Source: Crweber
