Panamaxes plagued by holiday lull.

(From Lloyds List)

Dry Trade

HOLIDAYS in Europe and slump in the Far East in recent times left Asian panamax brokers with little to do on Monday and it looks like there may not be much to shout about over the coming summer months, writes Marcus Hand in Singapore.

While panamax rates in the Pacific Basin have fallen sharply in recent weeks, the market is expected to level out. The capesize market in the Pacific has shown signs of picking up, although panamaxes are still heading south and are now around $20,000 daily for an inter-Pacific voyage.

'It has returned to being a traditional shipping summer,' Alexander Harkess, a director of Clarksons Asia in Singapore said.

He predicts that the next few months will be relatively quiet as China cools its economy, clears huge congestion backlogs at its ports, and before Europe starts stocking up on fuel for the winter.

China's surge of imports since September last year has left its ports heavily clogged, for example there are now some 35m tonnes of coal stuck waiting at its ports.