Shipping Markets: Dry Cargo Market “Highlights” - Week 49 (03/12/2010 - 10/12/2010)

This was another non-decisive week with the main motive being the total lack of any clear direction and trend. We feel that going this way on our job as analysts becomes really dull and sometimes we feel practically “useless” as not being able to read  and deduct any signals from the super volatile market fluctuations  makes us just wonder how ill or  not is the fate of the Dry Bulk markets? This week’s interesting moves were those of the Capes that made a small shortlived uprise towards the end of last week that momentarily gave us some happy thoughts that were quickly reversed as the index made 4 consecutive falls closing the week with a bitter after-taste. The Panamax size segment has already added more fuel to the existing volatility and has altered the uncertain moving pattern to ups and downs that start now to fluctuate every 2-3 days!!!! It is  rather odd that only the smaller sizes the Supramaxes and the Handysize ships are on a constant upward sloped pattern, and the Supras after 29 negative Baltic Exchange sessions are already counting 14 consecutive positive sessions and during the past 3 weeks have regained more than 23% of their strength. On a similar manner the smaller Handies
have 13 positive sessions and this seems to be on a steady motive that may last during the week to come.

Read the full Dry Bulk Market Highlights - Week 49 (03/12/2010 - 10/12/2010)

Best Regards

Theo Scholiadis - S&P Broker

Shipping Markets: Dry Cargo Market “Highlights” - Week 48 (26/11/2010 - 03/12/2010)

This was another week of mixed feelings that failed to give us any real sense of direction. However we feel that the Large ships, namely the Capes and VLOC’s are in for some hard times ahead. Not necessarily “tomorrow”, but surely in the year to come. We are one month away from clearing out 2010 and this year was overall a very good one, all “other things considering”…!!! We feel that China has lead the way forward, has given us some positive demand for cargoes, has generated momentum and has been the steam engine that gave power to the dry bulk markets. Had it not been for China’s constant and insatiable appetite for raw materials, and general imports together with providing the world with a massive wealth of exports, we would be facing a collapsed dry cargo freight market. Simply as that! The effects of the inflow and vast additions of many new ships in 2010 has been moderated by China and partly by the other developing and emerging countries.

Read the full Dry Bulk Market Highlights - Week 48 (26/11/2010 - 03/12/2010)

Best Regards

Theo Scholiadis - S&P Broker

Shipping Markets: Dry Cargo Market “Highlights” - Week 47 (19/11/2010 - 26/11/2010)

This was a week of mixed feelings and mixed sentiments with no certain trends that can be clearly seen to be developing. To the contrary more uncertainty and more volatility and a directionless week that shows that all indices are actually ready to move towards in either direction. This totally irregular pattern was more evident in the Panamax size segment which has been performing like a sawtooth and every week it seems to gain what it had lost during the previous week. One week we have -12% losses and the following week we get a +12% gain, that will continue and has continued over the past 1 ½ month on this behavioral pattern. This week we saw the rise of the Panamax Index by more than 14% and we are counting 5 cShipponsecutive positive days, the fall of the Capes by more than 8% after a 5 day increase that was short lived, and the rise of the Supras that after 32 consecutive failing days returned to a positive slope and made some positive gains.

Read the full Dry Bulk Market Highlights - Week 47 (19/11/2010 - 26/11/2010)

Best Regards
Theo Scholiadis - Save as DraftS&P Broker

Shipping Markets: Dry Cargo Market “Highlights” - Week 46 (12/11/2010 - 19/11/2010)

 Last week was “saved by the Panamaxes”, this week it was the Panamax sector that suffered the most. Increased volatility, greater fluctuations, and weekly or monthly periodicity of peaks and troughs have definitely altered the shipping markets. This was an overall negative week with all indices being red and most of the smaller indices producing long consecutive falling trends. For this coming week the BDI recorded its 17th consecutive drop, and it closed the week just like previous weeks with another strong loss of -7.3%. Capes may have found a bottom as the index mid-week marginally gained and this could be the possibility to start building on another rising period while Asian thermal Coal imports that will be needed to cover for the strong winter that is still ahead, may support the charter market showing some clear signs of new prompt and available cargoes.

Read the full Dry Bulk Market Highlights - Week 46 (12/11/2010 - 19/11/2010)!

Best Regards,
Theo Scholiadis - S&P Broker

Shipping Markets: Dry Cargo Market “Highlights” - Week 45 (05/11/2010 - 12/11/2010)

Once again the week was “saved” by the Panamaxes. What could have been an all red and negative week was marginally salvaged by the BPI that closed the week with only a small gain having lost dynamics after midweek of week 45 went by. For this coming week the BDI recorded its 12th consecutive drop, and it closed the week just like week44 with a -7.3% loss. Capes are still toneless with China further reducing the quantities of Iron/Ore imported and the charter market still showing some unfortunate clear signs of lack of prompt and available cargoes.

Meanwhile, the sluggish performance so far of the Dry Bulk Index for nearly 4-5 weeks, has been shrugged off as coal shipments have been drastically increasing in the latter half of 2010 as China is preparing for a colder than normal winter. If we didn’t have these boosts of coal, we might have been talking about a seriously negatively affected dry bulk market, and here are some positive news coming from Xu Xu (Xu “squared” it could well be!!), the chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, who expects that demand is expected to pick up as he announced that China's iron ore imports are expected to rise for the rest of the year as steel mills embark on a period of restocking -- in September we saw an 18 percent sequential rise in China's iron ore imports.

Read the full Dry Bulk Market Highlights - Week 45 (05/11/2010 - 12/11/2010)!

Best Regards,
Theo Scholiadis - S&P Broker