Charterers increasingly take wait-and-see stance in Azov Sea

摘要

The situation is now looking extremely uncertain in the Azov Sea. On the one hand, owners keep aggressively standing their ground and try to keep rates at previously reached peaks, although in fact they have no reasons for that other than adverse weather and the tradition to bullish ahead of the New Year holidays. In their turn, charterers increasingly refrain from spot shipments at current unprecedentedly high rates and prefer to take a wait-and-see stance, noticing a gradual increase in 2H Dec tonnage list and forecasting an imminent market softening. Such expectations seem quite logical given weakening demand for grain in Turkey amid a further collapse of the Turkish lira. A significant decline in coal prices also does not help to preserve the current market situation: