Spot rates for capesize bulkers pulled back on Friday but still ended the week with solid gains, extending a rally for the sector.
The capesize 5TC, a spot-rate average across five key routes, slid 3.6% in one day to hit $80,877 per day on Friday, after a month-long rally in which the index more than doubled, according to Baltic Exchange data.
The figure marks a 7.6% increase from $75,190 per day a week earlier.
The 5TC has essentially skyrocketed since slipping 4% to $40,518 per day on 8 September, hurtling past one milestone after another.
It reached $80,877 per day on Tuesday, breaking the $80,000-per-day threshold for the first time since September 2008.
A major force behind Friday's decline was the average spot rate for the transpacific round voyage from China and Japan route dropping 7.9% to $77,692 per day.
Rates for the other four benchmark routes that make up the capesize 5TC also declined on Friday.
The China-to-Brazil round trip slipped 3% to $71,416 per day.
"Throughout the earlier part of the week the Pacific basin rose in tandem with the Atlantic on strong sentiment, but was seen to soften as the week ended, leaving the Atlantic paying a significant premium," the Baltic Exchange wrote in its weekly wrap-up of the dry bulk market.
"While the market softened slightly towards the end of the week, there appears little sign that the fireworks are coming to an end."
