Lower demand hits coastal China freight rates

摘要

China’s coastal freight rates for coal shipments have droppedsteadily since 11 August, as more utilities finish restockingtheir immediate needs after the July heatwave.Freight costs for 50,000-60,000t Panamax vessels on thekey coal shipping route from northeast China’s Qinhuangdaoport to Guangzhou in the south fell to 36.5 yuan/t yesterday.The day-on-day decline in the freight rate intensified toYn1.6/t yesterday from Yn0.2/t previously.