Asian freight rates seen softening

Panamax dry bulk rates are expected to drift with a softer bias in a quiet market this week as business is winding down for Chinese holidays, shipping sources said on Tuesday.
Chinese buyers of minerals and grains, a major force driving up freight rates, will stay away from the market next week as they celebrate National Day.
"They're already in a holiday mode," said an official with a Japanese shipping company.
Modern panamax rates for the benchmark US Gulf to Japan route for October shipment were around $52-$53 a tonne on Tuesday, down from $55 a week earlier, brokers said.
Panamax rates for November shipment were around $53 a tonne, with rates for December offered at $55.
Rates eased as business for newly harvested North American grains and oilseeds was not as active as anticipated, brokers said.
Asian traders said on Friday that Chinese crushers bought only one or two US soy cargoes last week, with sentiment cooling ahead of the harvest of a bumper domestic crop and after aggressive purchases early this month.
Chinese buyers and international suppliers were extremely cautious after huge soy imports at the start of the year led to an oversupply of soyameal until recently, they said.
Brokers also attributed easier panamax rates to falls in the capsize market.
A panamax-class vessel carries 55,000 tonnes of dry bulk commodities, while a capsize vessel carries more than 100,000 tonnes.
An official with another Japanese shipping firm cited a shift in grain shipments from the US Gulf to the Pacific Northwest as another reason for softer Gulf-Japan rates.
Recent gains in Gulf-Japan rates made it more attractive for buyers to arrange grain vessels for the Pacific-Asia route. The official said the rate differential between the Gulf and Pacific routes temporarily widened to about $18-$20 tonne.
"Many deals were done for September-October shipments of US soybeans from the Pacific to Chinese ports," the official said.
In the period market, time-charter (TC) rates for the US Gulf to Japan were quoted on Tuesday at $33,000-$35,000 a day plus $600,000 ballast bonus (BB), down from $36,000 a day plus $670,000 BB a week earlier, brokers said.
TC rates in the Pacific market were at $33,000-$35,000 a day, compared with $32,500 a week earlier.
From Europe to East Asia routes, rates were at $33,000-$35,000 a day, against $36,000-$37,000 a week ago.