Last week, on the back of a meeting between
the Pakistan Ship Breakers Association (PSBA) and local authorities, ongoing
rumors surrounding a potential Pakistan re-opening for tankers within the next
month began to further intensify. The news may well be greeted with the usual
degree of outlandish Cash Buyer speculation that we have frequently seen
through the course of the recent past. However, the reality is that Pakistan is
a market that too has softened in recent weeks and an influx of tanker
candidates is hardly going to help in boosting levels from Gadani Buyers.
That being said, Sinokor of South Korea
continued their clear-out of older tonnage with the sales of a Capesize bulker
(a highly sought after and rare breed of vessels these days) in addition to an
Aframax tanker, at some unsurprisingly bullish numbers.
Moreover, given the spate of fixtures through
2018, there was of course, another VLCC concluded on private terms this week,
to swell the growing ranks of unsold tonnage out there, and perhaps another
sign that Cash Buyer confidence on a Pakistan reopening may be well-founded.
Meanwhile, pricing has remained stagnant for
several weeks now, with marginal declines witnessed in both India &
Pakistan and Bangladesh just about holding onto their levels, through what has
been an overall underwhelming start to the year for Chittagong buyers.
Finally, Chinese New Year holidays have
certainly interrupted the flow of deals and deliveries (as minimal as they have
been) this week and it may be a stilted week ahead as people slowly drift back
to work from their various holidays.
Source: steel
guru. 20 February 2018
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