Panamax dry bulk rates are seen drifting with a softer bias this week as the recent sharp rebound in shipping costs has depressed raw material demand amid the summer lull, shipping company officials said on Wednesday.
Modern Panamax rates for dry bulk cargoes were estimated at around $48 a tonne for the benchmark US Gulf to Japan route, down from $52-$55 a week earlier, they said.
"Charterers have stayed on the sidelines due to recent bounces in freight rates," said an official with a Japanese shipping company. "I have not heard of new fixtures, after rates were set at $47 (for the Gulf-Japan route) last week."
Panamax rates have rebounded by about $13 or 37 percent from the June bottom of $35, buoyed by orders to ship Australian and Indian iron ore to China and to carry Indonesian coal to Europe.
The new orders raised hopes among ship owners for a revival of Chinese appetite for raw materials, which had been hurt by Beijing's measures to rein in its overheating economy.
Panamax rates, which soared to record highs of $75-$80 in February to March this year on robust Chinese demand, started to fall from mid-April when imports from China slowed because of the government's steps to cool down the economy.
Given the seasonal slowdown in industrial activities, freight rates were unlikely to move much from current levels in the next several weeks, he said.
Japanese importers, saddled with ample stocks of grains and coal, are not in a rush to make fresh deals. But ship owners, expecting Chinese demand to return to the market in autumn, were reluctant to cut rates substantially, he said.