Firming bulker prices this month amid tepid spot rates saw appetite to buy steel hulls plummet. Damp was how one Asia-based broker described the mood. The flow of Japanese secondhand tonnage to market on dry is still very much limited mainly due to so many purchase options still being declared.

Month-on-month dry bulk S&P activity was down by around 62%, according to data from VesselsValue. Around 16% of sales this month were to Greek buyers, followed by Indonesian buyers at 13%.

Cap...