The demand for capesize ships is weakening! BDI index rose first and then fell

Suppressed by weaker demand for capesize vessels, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) fell to its lowest level in nearly three weeks after rising for three consecutive sessions last week.

On October 21, the BDI index fell 18 points to 1819 points, a daily decline of 1% and a weekly decline of 1%, the second consecutive weekly decline. Among them, the Baltic Capesize Bulk Carrier Index (BCI) fell 40 points to 2071 points, a daily decline of 1.9% and a weekly decline of 4.4%. The average daily profit of capesize ships fell by US0 to US,175.

On the same day, the Baltic Panamax Bulk Carrier Index (BPI) fell 17 points to 2144 points, a daily drop of 0.8%, but the weekly cumulative increase was about 3%, and the average daily profit of Panamax ships fell by US5 to US,293. The Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) rose 2 points to 1678.

Industry analysts said that last week, benefiting from Ukraine's grain exports almost returning to pre-war levels, coupled with expectations that the market will see some seasonal improvement in the next few months, the BDI index continued to rise from Monday to Tuesday; however, approaching the weekend, Data released by the worldsteel association showed that global steel demand will fall by 2.3% this year, partly due to limited demand in China, the largest consumer, and a decline in trade activity on the South Atlantic route, which has led to a decline in the BDI index.

In the capesize market last week, with the increase in inquiries from major miners after the end of the National Day holiday, the transportation demand was released in a concentrated manner. However, since the second half of the week, due to the continued sluggish downstream demand, only a few miners made inquiries, and the idle capacity increased. The attitude of shipowners gradually weakened, dragging down the freight rate of capesize ships that transport more iron ore. In the small and medium-sized ship market, due to the large number of coal pallets from the end of October to the beginning of November, coupled with the delay in market capacity due to the impact of typhoons, the freight rates of Panamax and Supramax ships, which carry more coal and grains, are supported.