So I will be one of their regular analysts...
This out today
Quote
Baltic index stays pressured on low demand
Aug 1 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell for a seventeenth straight session on Wednesday due to limited shipping activity on sluggish raw material demand. The overall index, which reflects daily freight market prices for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, lost 19 points or 2.12 percent to 878 points. The index has fallen about 49 percent this year. "The Index is being pulled down by a mixture of sluggish raw material demand, a continued oversupply of ships, the Olympic games and the holiday season," Andy Jamison shipping blogger and owner of the Virtual Shipbroker said. The capesize index was down 1.09 percent at 1,181 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which usually transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $192 at $4,358. Capes are down due to a very limited new enquiry out of Australia and Brazil, Jamison said. "It may seem that players' focus is presently more on London (Olympics) 2012 than minerals trading, and the absence of fresh enquiry is adding further downward momentum in a segment already under severe pressure," broker firm Fearnleys said in its weekly report. Chinese steel futures fell nearly 2 percent on Wednesday, snapping six consecutive sessions of gains, as weaker-than-expected Chinese official manufacturing data dented market confidence and rekindled worries about sagging demand. Iron ore shipments account for around a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a key factor for dry freight. The Baltic Exchange's panamax index fell 2.85 percent to 954 points, with average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000-70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, down $225 at $7,612. "The coal market is in free fall and producers have even started closing high cost mines, which was unthinkable six months ago," Jamison of Virtual Shipbroker said. He noted that the poor demand in the U.S and high inventories in China coupled with higher supply have led to a fall in coal prices. "Most coal suppliers are still trying to sort out previous positions rather than even looking at new sales," he said. (Reporting by NR Sethuraman in Bangalore; Editing by Alison Birrane)unqte
Pretty cool hey!
Glad to have the worlds premier news service in Reuters as a supporter of this blog!
cool stuff, nowadays you get harrased by owners. I got an owner fm Europe call me at least 12 times in one day, non stop, even emails.. I had to totally ignore, as a broker in sunny Dubai, was awaiting some technical clarification fm chrts... it doesn't happen often !!!!!
ReplyDeleteIn response to comment of anonymous above :
ReplyDeleteA sign of the times indeed, these are difficult and dire times for owners. Owners (those who have the insight and means) will have to adapt to the changing market and in my opinion the recovery to something close to what owners knew pre 2008 is still far from happening anytime soon. On the other hand there are still some visionary owners out there; that have invested wisely over the years, not over exposing themselves and able to overcome downcycles in the market. They are now reaping the benefits of their strategies. In the end there two types of shipowners the rich one and... the bust one :-)