Shipbrokers have described bulk carrier freight markets as “positional” several times in the last month, which could be a euphemism for lacking clear direction. Quite possibly the interruption of Easter holidays across the world has impacted activity, as has the Shanghai lockdown which at the time of writing has entered its fourth week.

The capesize market, as indicated by the Baltic Capesize Index, peaked on March 18 at 2,605 points, then slid to a low of 2,031 points on April 11 before ral...