Freight firm on grain, iron ore, coal demand

摘要

Ocean freight markets were generally firm in the past week, while buyers eye declining demand and high inventories for China's iron ore, leaving week-on-week comparisons mixed. The pull of other commodities is doing more to raise coal freight rates than coal itself. A drought in the Middle East is surging its grain imports. Iran could surpass Egypt as the world's top grain importer this year, and the longer route from the US adds tonne-miles to fleet shipments, adding to Chinese demand firming panamax rates. The country recently took its first shipment of US grain in a quarter century.