Capesizes return to five-digit territory

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Hong Kong: A strong surge of iron ore and coal imports to China has seen capesizes break through the $10,000 mark, lending credence to the feeling that the dramatic slump on the Baltic Dry Index has bottomed out. Iron ore stocks in China had sunk low last week and the mills piled in with some large orders.
Average capesize rates on the four major trade routes, after hitting a low of $2,316 a day on December 2, began to rise in the past five days. In terms of spot charter fees, Taiwan's China Steel Express has fixed a 160,000-dwt ship completed in 1993 at $10,000 a day on the Europe-Brazil-Taiwan trade route. For one-year time charter prices, a recent one was fixed at $17,500 a day. [17/12/08]