Breathing a collective sigh of relief, Capesize owners see their freights begin the week on a widely positive note (as presaged near the end of last week) with notable gains on the trans-Pacific round voyage in particular. Pacific RV rates on time charter basis rose by some US$ 500 day-on-day over the first session of the week to near low US$ 7,000s on 180,000 dwt ships. Front haul rates are also looking to make a positive reversal with US$ 26,000s moving toward US$ 27,000s. TARVs are hovering at US$ 15,000.

Bullishness defines the Panamaxes at the moment with nary a poor route or rate to be seen. Owners are revelling in having control of the show as open tonnage remains short of demand volume in nearly every major area of business. The front haul rates, following the Lunar New Year, are looking especially vibrant at the moment with US$ 28,000s already being discussed on modern 82,000 dwt ships linked with Singapore-Japan redelivery on end-Feb dates. Supramax owners are enjoying their time in the sun (deep of winter be damned) with front haul rates reaching new highs as Pacific demand gets re-energized after the eastern holidays. USG front hauls are hitting the US$ 29,000s range (we hear) on modern Ultramax tonnage while the Black Sea delivery equivalent (basis SP-JP redelivery) are hitting upwards of US$ 27,000 daily on prompt dates. Pacific RV rates are lightly buoyant at around US$ 11,500 daily.

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