It’s hard to believe that the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) started the year above the 2,200 mark given that now is standing at below 1,100, and having spent most of the late spring and summer below 1,000. A seasonal rally had religiously been prayed for and for a few recent weeks capesize rates improved to ‘high teen levels’ (approximately $18,000 pd on average spot market), but then again, the rally seems to have run out of steam a bit too early.  A worldwide bumper crop season of grains, primarily in North America, has been holding the hopes for boosting panamax rates especially in the Atlantic, but it seems railroad capacity has preferentially been tied up to shipments of shale oil, leaving inland seaways transport to cope with the movement of the cargo along the Mississippi River to New Orleans for exporting. China, as this was put into perspective in a recent New York Times op-ed article, has been focusing on clean air and has shut down domestic coal mines of poor calorific quality or high sulphur content, and likewise imposed higher standards of imported coal, which likely would stimulate increased imports and thus help drive higher dry bulk freight rates. There has been speculation that, over the long run, China will be shifting its power generation to natural gas, which is perceived as a negative development for coal miners worldwide, but good for the LNG trade fortunes.

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