The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index recorded its worst week in seven, weighed down by weaker demand across vessel segments. However, an uptick in capesize vessel rates helped snap a six-session losing streak on Friday. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, edged up 27 points, or 1.49%, to 1,844 points. On a weekly basis, the index has fallen 13.4%. The capesize index gained 117 points, or 4.57%, to 2,675, but registered a weekly decline of 18%. Average daily earnings for capesize ...

China’s domestic iron ore concentrate output in 2024 will rise between 5 million and 10 million metric tons from the year before, its state-backed steel association said on Friday. “The key domestic iron ore projects have made noticeable progress thanks to efforts from various parties,” the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said in a post on its WeChat account. Global iron ore supply will grow by more than 50 million tons in 2024, it said. China, the world’s largest iron ore consumer which imports more than two-thirds of its ...

Iron ore futures extended gains on Friday to their highest in more than one week andwere on track for a weekly gain, supported by resilient consumption and a brighter demand outlook in top consumer China thanks to its latest property stimulus efforts. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 2.18% higher at 891.5 yuan ($123.47) a metric ton, the highest since May 8. It has logged a gain of 2.8%week-on-week. The benchmark June iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.37% ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, slipped to its lowest level in nearly two weeks on Thursday, weighed down by weaker rates across all segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 72 points, or 3.81%, to 1,817. The capesize index slipped 141 points, or 5.22%, to 2,558. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes of iron ore and coal, among others, decreased $1,165 to $21,218. Iron ore ...

China’s demand for imported iron ore has most likely peaked, but the composition of future imports are likely to shift as the world’s biggest steel producer seeks to decarbonise. China, which buys about 75% of all seaborne iron ore, imported 1.18 billion metric tons of the key steel raw material in 2023, a record high, according to customs data. But since 2019, iron ore imports have been locked in a fairly narrow range between 1.07 billion and the 2023 peak. The consensus of views at last week’s Iron Ore Forum ...

Iron ore futures prices rebounded on Thursday as news of authorities in top consumer China considering government purchases of unsold homes lifted investor sentiment and demand outlook for the key steelmaking ingredient. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 2.56% higher at 881 yuan ($122.09) a metric ton. The benchmark June iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was up 2.46% at $116.5 a ton, as of 0730 GMT. China is considering a plan for local governments nationwide to buy millions of unsold ...

Soybean oil export values in the Brazilian market have strengthened to nearly two-year highs amid a combination of supportive factors, from improving destination demand to concerns over crop losses from floods in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Platts assessed the soybean oil FOB Paranaguá basis for June dates at minus 300 points to the Chicago Board of Trade July (N) contract, the highest for a front-month loading since July 27, 2022, when marked at minus 280 points. Brazilian cash basis levels have been increasing since they hit ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell for the fifth consecutive session on Wednesday dragged by weaker rates across all segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 104 points, or 5.22%, to 1,889, its highest single-day loss since April 23. The capesize index slipped 232 points, or 7.92%, to 2,699, its lowest level in almost two weeks. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes of iron ore ...

Building on our Capesize Market Insights from the end of April, this week we are monitoring Panamax vessel count of ballasters in the ECSA region versus Baltic rates. The month of May presents challenges for the Capesize freight market prices, as uncertainties loom over Chinese macroeconomic fundamentals, potentially impacting future growth and demand. As China moves into the second quarter, various indicators hint at the possibility of sluggish economic expansion unless conditions improve, leading to heightened expectations for monetary policy adjustments. Over the weekend, the People’s Bank of China disclosed ...

“Global soya bean exports are forecast to grow by 8% between 2023 and 2025 based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Stronger import demand from China will be met by larger harvests in the US and Brazil and in the near term, soya beans are expected to be a key growth driver for global grain shipments,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO. In 2023, soya bean exports rose 10.6% due to a record harvest in Brazil. However, so far in 2024 exports have stagnated as ...

Iron ore prices extended declines into a second straight session on Wednesday, dragged down by expectations of seasonally falling demand in top consumer China and U.S. tariff hikes on some Chinese products. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 1.55% lower at 858 yuan ($118.78) a metric ton. The benchmark June iron ore contract SZZFM4 on the Singapore Exchange was 1.13% lower at $113.85 a ton, as of 0809 GMT, its lowest level since April 24. The decline is partially because ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index that tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities slipped to a more than one-week low on Tuesday, pressured by weaker demand across all vessel segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, dipped 73 points, or 3.53%, to 1,993, its lowest level since May 3. The capesize index slipped 177 points, or 5.69%, to 2,931. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes of iron ore and coal, among others, decreased $1,462 ...

Coal imports for blending purposes witnessed a decline of 32% in FY24 at 23.92 million tonnes (MT) compared to 35.10 MT in FY23, an official data showed. The decline can be attributed to the increase in the production of domestic coal which touched 997.4 MT last fiscal, up 11.67% from the previous year. Central sector power plants accounted for 48% of the total coal imports for blending, followed by independent power plants at 33%, and state sector plants at 18.8%. The installed capacity of domestic coal-based plants stands at approximately ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index fell for the third consecutive session on Monday, weighed down by lower capesize and panamax vessel rates. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, dipped 63 points, or 2.96%, to 2,066. The capesize index slipped 184 points, or 5.59%, to 3,108. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes of iron ore and coal, among others, decreased $1,528 to $25,773. Iron ore futures prices strengthened on Monday, as news of Chinese authorities issuing ...

China’s imports of major commodities for April show the impact of price trends, with strength where prices were trending down and weakness where prices were moving higher. The temptation for market observers is to view China’s commodity imports through the prism of how the world’s second-biggest economy is performing, but it increasingly appears that price movements are a more determining factor, at least in the short term. For April, there was strength in imports of iron ore, coal and natural gas, while arrivals of crude oil and copper were soft. ...