GMS Market Commentary on Shipbreaking in Week 37 - CURIOUS SPECULATION!

Some extraordinarily speculative sales were registered this week as a few Cash Buyers (ones rumored to have fresh access to funding) seem intent on bidding well ahead of the market, in anticipation of firming rates ahead. This move was probably initiated last week with the high priced sales of a Cape and a VLCC on an ‘as is’ basis, at some massive numbers that are certainly not reflective of current market realities. In fact, all markets have displayed worrying signs of a possible decline in preceding weeks, making much of the recent offerings highly confusing and risky for Ship Owners and Cash Buyers alike.

As it stands, Pakistan remains stuffed with tanker tonnage that have only recently received cutting permission, albeit only on a handful of the plethora of units that were beached several months ago. Furthermore, they have also been beset with an announcement of a ‘mini’ budget, the outcome of which local Buyers are waiting for.

Bangladesh has suffered a week of declines in local steel plate prices and has consequently dropped to lowest placed of all the subcontinent markets. L/C issues have also plagued the industry of late, with very few banks willing to sanction limits on the locally favored large LDT vessels such as VLCCs, Capes and Suezmax tankers.

Wrapping up the subcontinent news is the Indian Rupee, which continues to endure weeks of crippling depreciations in unprecedented and historical lows, trading well over Rs. 72 against the U.S. Dollar, finally settling a touch this week and bringing some much-needed positivity to the local market.

Finally, as China remains marooned in a Neverland of its own making, Turkey is probably the only market to report noteworthy positive gains in both fundamentals i.e. local steel plate prices as well as the Turkish Lira, resulting in firming levels this week.

For week 37 of 2018, GMS demo rankings / pricing for the week are as below.

Demo Rank	Location	Sentiment	Dry Bulk USD/LDT	Containers USD/LDT	Tankers USD/LDT
1	India	Positive	USD 425/LT	USD 445 / LT	USD 435 / LT
2	Pakistan	Stable	USD 420/LT	USD 440/LT	USD 430/LT
3	Bangladesh	Declining	USD 415/LT	USD 435/LT	USD 425/LT
4	Turkey	Firming	USD 250/MT	USD 250/MT	USD 260 / MT

Source: steel guru. 18 Sep 2018

https://steelguru.com/steel/gms-market-commentary-on-shipbreaking-in-week-37-curious-speculation/520827