Dry bulk coal vessel freight rates fall marginally on subdued demand

• Subdued demand has kept trade activities limited
  
  
• Drop in fresh cargoes due to approaching Lunar New Year holidays
  
  

Coal freight rates headed south this week. Notably,weak buying interest from India has limited the movement of ships. BigMint noted, The Indian market is adequately supplied and the importers are well-stocked with coal, enabling importers to negotiate lower bids. BigMint observed, coal enquiries are under pressure on slightly up in bunker prices and limited fresh cargoes due to holidays.

An enquiries fixed towards early this week, SAIL has booked a Panamax vessel (cargo capacity-75,000 t) for metallurgical coal from Abbot Point, Australia to Vizag and Haldia, India at freight $14.5/tonnes (t). The shipment is scheduled for the period of 27 February- 7 March.

Route-wise details:

• South Africa to India freight remains volatile: Freight rates for coal shipments from Richards Bay terminal to Krishnapatam, India, are currently at around $16.3/t. Buying activity for South African coal remained limited on falling semi-finished and finished steel prices in EAF/IF segment, driven by expectations of further price drops amid subdued demand. The market reflects decreased industrial activity leading to lower consumption and constrained trading. Market participants noted a cautious atmosphere, indicating buyer hesitancy as they await potentially more favourable pricing conditions.
  
  
• Australia to India freight drop on delayed delivery: Australian coking coal prices edged down, which have attributed to tepid demand from China due to the lunar holidays, while end-users in India were observed diverting their attention away from Australia due to production and delivery delays. Whereas, freight from Port HayPoint to India and as well as to China seen a drop of $1-2/t on w-o-w. Furthermore, Kembla Port in Australia is scheduled for maintenance shutdown from 12 to 15, Feb'24.
  
  
• Indonesia to India freight slight down: Indonesian thermal coal exports dropped due to subdued demand from major countries such as India, pending approval of production quotas of Indonesian mines until mid-January causing a coal shortage, and rainfall in many areas of Indonesia.