Average spot rates across dry bulk shipping receded on Thursday as the Atlantic basin saw meagre fixture activity.
The capesize 5TC, which factors five key routes, slipped 4.9% to $11,753 per day, while the panamax 5TC fell by 3.1% to $25,003 per day.
The supramax 7TC slid 2.1% to $28,022 per day.
“Brokers note that there is limited activity in the north Atlantic, which keeps capes looking for panamax stems,” Clarksons Platou Securities said on Thursday regarding capesizes.
But even the panamaxes had a slow day, according to Baltic Exchange analysts.
“Another lacklustre day for the panamax market with another day of red ink across all routes,” they wrote in their daily assessment.
“The Atlantic witnessed further erosion in rates as the [east coast of] South America transatlantic trips, much the driver this week in the Atlantic losing support.”
Hong Kong charterer Reachy International hired the 82,037-dwt Navios Magellan II (built 2020) at $26,500 per day for a voyage from South America to Singapore.
The ship, which will also earn a $1.65m ballast bonus, will get loaded from 25 to 30 April.
The analysts used similarly unenthusiastic language to describe sparse fixture activity for supramaxes.
“A rather lacklustre day with limited fresh activity surfacing as negative sentiment remained in many areas,” they wrote.
“Brokers said limited fresh enquiry was seen in the Atlantic, although from the US Gulf, split sentiment was seen as some saw better levels of fresh enquiry whilst others said prompt tonnage was building.”
Clarksons Platou added that China’s Covid-19 lockdowns “cloud the demand outlook”, while capesizes reportedly wait off Colombia and South Africa in response to the EU’s proposed ban on Russian coal.
