Week 35
After the last week or two in the doldrums, there was just a hint that a slightly improved market may be in the offing. A relatively better rate was said to have been achieved for an AG/Thailand cargo and for longer for voyages to the East rates were nudging back up to the WS 30 mark or maybe slightly better. West Africa/China fixtures continued to hover around WS 40.
The West Africa market was quiet with very little fresh enquiry. Rates for UK-Cont discharge have now slipped to just under the WS 60 mark and unless new business emerges, further slides cannot be ruled out. The Black Sea/Mediterranean market was also extremely quiet and here rates have slipped a couple of points down to the mid WS 60s.
Although there was quite an active start to the week from the Baltic, rates have been fairly static at around the WS 70 level for UK-Cont discharge. The North Sea has largely followed the Baltic and here rates continued mostly unchanged at around the WS 95 mark. The Mediterranean market also remained stable in the upper WS 70s.
At the close of the week, the UK-Cont market was showing slight signs of improvement towards the WS 120 mark or possibly slightly higher. The back-haul US Gulf/Continent trades however subsided to the low WS 70s from the upper WS 70s at the start of the week.
For daily tanker market assessments from the Baltic Exchange please visit www.balticexchange.com/market-information/