Suexmax spot rates continued their upward trend today after hitting all-time lows during the past two weeks in what appears to be a so-called “dead cat bounce”.
The timecharter equivalent (TCE) rate Baltic’s Black Sea-Mediterranean benchmark route (TD6) was today assessed at $2,611 per day, an increase of $2,245 since Wednesday.
The route hit a historic low of -$1,048 per day on August 16, according to Baltic Exchange data.
Similarly, the Baltic’s West Africa-Continent benchmark (TD20) hit an all-time low of $3,966 per day on August 12.
Today, the TCE rate advanced by $2,089 and the TD20 route was assessed at $8,672 per day.
“A rush of enquiries in West Africa, coupled with multiple cargoes loading USG [US Gulf] for east destinations saw rates in West Afirca rise from WS35 to WS42.5 at the time of writing for UKC-Med discharge,” Fearnleys wrote in its weekly market report today.
“Long-haul voyages also been booked in Med/Bsea [Black Sea], which will help the, up to now, ample tonnage availability,” the broker said.
