Spot rates for capesize bulkers took this year's second-biggest tumble in a week amid a confluence of market headwinds that have sent them deep into correction territory.

The capesize 5TC, a spot-rate average weighted across five key routes, plummeted 23.2% over the seven-day period to $64,417 per day after taking an 8.2% dive on Friday alone.

"Actually, it is not surprising," John Kartsonas, founder of asset-management firm Breakwave Advisors, told TradeWinds.

"In the summer there were weeks that capes were down about the same, and there have been weeks of 40% drops in the past few years.

"Demand for iron ore has slowed down due to the energy situation in China, and thus capesizes that are the most levered to iron ore have been hurt the most."

He said the rest of the dry bulk market remains healthy amid robust demand for coal, but capesize rates will most likely fall further next week.

The spot-rate average for the benchmark Brazil-China route was a major driver behind the plunge, descending 29.4% to $54,813 per day, according to Baltic Exchange data.

Falling freight rates along the Pacific west Australia to Qingdao run have also pushed the market down as it slid 21.6% over the week to $16.736 per tonne on Friday.

Those rates reflect a rate at about $54,813 per day on that benchmark route, according to Baltic Exchange market analysts.

"Typhoon Kompasu was said to be causing some disruption to vessel schedules in the Taiwan, Philippines, South China region," the Baltic Exchange said in its weekly report on dry bulk shipping.

The last time the 5TC fell so quickly this year was in late January when it cascaded 36.4% in a week to $15,675 per day on 29 January.

The paper market for capesizes is in contango for October but then falls sharply in the ensuing months and quarters as a possible harbinger of even lower rates to come.

The forward freight agreement (FFA) rate for October picked up $322 per day on Thursday to reach $69,179 per day, while the November figure added $1,178 per day to achieve $49,571 per day.

The FFA rate for the fourth quarter was $43,024 per day on Thursday after gaining $661 per day.

That for the first quarter of 2022 was $27, 661 per day after improving $250 per day.