The TD3 forward freight agreement contract rates have been trimmed down this week in line with the softer very large crude carrier market.
While some tanker derivatives brokers were still at their desk this week trying to just look busy, the reality is that trading has been limited.
The TD3 forward freight agreement contract rates have been trimmed down this week in line with the softer very large crude carrier market.
On Monday, brokers reported ExxonMobil fixing two double-hulled VLCCs at W70, a few Worldscale points below the last done rates.
The Singapore-based broker noted that at the latest count the available VLCC tonnage was barely enough to cover the January programme.
It said that 76 vessels were available over the next five weeks versus estimates of a further 80 cargoes.
?This is certainly something to watch out for. If the requirements list is anything to go by, the next few days won"t be that active unless cargoes come out of the woodwork. This would cause cargoes to pile up and lead to some sort of rush in the new year. So don"t count VLCC rates down and out yet.?
Rates will definitely not stage any rebound
?Is it all downhill for rates? Not really. But with the holidays coming up, rates will definitely not stage any rebound so expect them to ease off slightly, at worst,? warned derivatives broker Imarex Asia in its daily report.
The FFA January TD3 contract yesterday, which covers a VLCC voyage from the Middle East to Japan, was trading around W44, while the calendar year 2009 contract was trading at W41.
?If the physical market continues to dig deeper, we would expect January to keep moving the same way,? said Imarex vice-president of research and marketing Mike Reardon.
ICAP Shipping in its daily report said Monday had been ?almost a write-off? with the only trade being a TD3 January contract at W45 and W46. The London brokerage said it had heard that a TC2 contract had traded at W147.
Commenting on the clean products market, Mr Reardon added: ?With most of December already priced in there is little incentive for trading.?
A broker at Imarex told that only one TC4 trade was done yesterday at W128 for a January contract.
On the physical, the broker said that the TC4 route, which covers a 30,000-tonne stem from Singapore to Japan, had looked as if it would break W200, but now it seemed to have lost some steam due to a lack of activity with the end of the year.
?Looking at paper, we have probably seen the best time for the TC4 on the physical for a little while,? the broker said.
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