Capes are back in 2008 territory. The time charter equivalent C10 transpacific round voyage yesterday surpassed the $70,000 a day threshold. The C14 transatlantic round voyage was also “on fire”, according to analysts at Lorentzen & Stemoco, on the verge of hitting the $70,000 a day mark. Overall, the Baltic Exchange set the 5TC at $61,683 a day, pushing up by $9,402 over the week and erasing the jitters experienced on Monday over concerns about a possible collapse of Evergrande, a major Chinese real estate developer.

“Tremendous gains in the Pacific framed the development of the Cape market this week,” Braemar ACM stated in a note to clients yesterday. The spot price of iron ore Fe 62% fines has climbed off recent lows in the past couple of days, as Chinese buyers start restocking for the Golden Week holidays.

“The coming days and weeks look to be very interesting as the Pacific seems to drain most vessels opening, meaning there is a very limited number of vessels heading for Brazil and Atlantic,” Fearnleys stated in its most recent weekly report.