Asia shipping Q2: dry bulk market caught in trade war crossfire

摘要

The Capesize markets in both the Asia Pacific and Atlantic regions have had an extremely mercurial Q2, with market watchers ascribing the volatility to a combination of both fundamental and sentimental shifts. "There have been quite a lot of period fixtures since the end of last year at about the high teens to low-$20,000/day levels. So ship-operators are definitely keen on keeping up this momentum," a source said about the market's expectation for the rest of the year. However, the precarious nature of this year's Capesize market has caused most participants to take a very cautious view. "It's difficult to predict, there are a lot of people who have taken a position in this market, only to be disappointed soon after," a shipbroker said.