Shanghai Shipping Exchange: Freight rates for the three major ship types diverge; dry bulk charter rate index falls first, then rises.

According to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, this week the freight rate trends of the three major ship types in the international dry bulk shipping market diverged: Panamax vessels were relatively weak, Supramax vessels held steady, but in the second half of the week Capesize vessels provided strong support to the market, driving the Far East dry bulk charter rate index to stop falling and rise. By ship type, in the second half of the week iron ore cargoes were successively released in the Capesize vessel markets in both the Atlantic and Pacific basins, available capacity tightened, and freight rates moved higher. The Panamax vessel market was affected by the sluggish conditions in the Atlantic, sentiment was weighed down, and daily charter rates fell significantly. In the Supramax vessel market, demand for coal and nickel ore for return voyages to China was relatively soft, but steel export demand from northern China remained strong, while coal transport demand from Indonesia to Southeast Asia and India was robust, absorbing part of the market capacity, and daily charter rates operated at high levels. On October 29, the Far East dry bulk charter rate index published by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange stood at 2254.38 points, edging up 0.3% from the previous period.