Bulker futures moved higher on Thursday even though most segments of the dry bulk spot market dipped to their lowest level in five months. Forward freight agreement (FFA) data from Braemar Atlantic Securities showed increases for capesizes, panamaxes and supramaxes for August contracts, as well as for the final two quarters of this year and for full-year 2023. Supramaxes led the charge, with FFAs for August jumping 10.4% on in a single session to $22,500 per day on Thursday. But the spot market moved in the other direction, with the Baltic Exchange’s assessment of average supramax earnings dipping $294 during the session to just under $26,600 per day. That was the lowest level since 9 February, roughly two weeks before Russian troops entered Ukraine and bulker markets responded by surging. “Sentiment remained fairly pessimistic in many regions of the Atlantic,” the exchange’s analysts said in a daily report. “From Asia, brokers reported that prompt tonnage availability remained high helping keep rates in check.”

A similar divide was seen in the panamax market, where August contracts jumped $1,125 on Thursday to top $18,600 per day while FFAs covering the third quarter of this year gained $1,350 to approach $19,200, according to the Braemar Atlantic data. But spot rates headed in the opposite direction, with the Baltic Exchange’s average earnings in that sector dipping $795 on Thursday to nearly $17,300 per day, the lowest level since 7 February. The day’s spot charter market saw positive sentiment. But the Baltic Exchange’s analysts noted some talk of resistance for offers on tonnage coming open on the east coast of South America, particularly as rising FFAs give reason to wait. They cited talk that Sea Pioneer Shipping’s 76,600-dwt Bravery (built 2004) scored a fixture for a journey from the Middle East to South America’s east coast and back for $23,000 per day, but that was “refuted” later in the day. “Fundamentals appear largely unchanged with tonnage outweighing demand still,” the analysts said.

As small and midsize vessels lost ground in the spot market, capesizes fueled an eight-point rise in the Baltic Dry Index, which came in at 2,010 on Thursday. Average spot earnings in the sector rose 5.3% on Thursday to just under $20,400 per day, the highest level since 21 June. Australian miner Rio Tinto grabbed three capesizes during the day to carry 170,000-tonne cargoes of iron ore from Western Australia to Qingdao at rates between $10.45 and $10.75 per tonne. That’s up from $10.25 per tonne for the last done fixture on the route, paid by Fortescue Metals Group for a smaller cargo of 160,000 tons. Capesize FFAs followed the upward trajectory, with August contracts rising $1,125 on Thursday to nearly $28,900 per day, according to Braemar Atlantic.