Iran Oil Flows to China Fall on Sanctions, Refinery Maintenance
Iran is shipping less oil to China, as toughening sanctions snarl the OPEC producer’s shipments and refinery demand falls in the world’s biggest fossil fuel importer.
Dec 18 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index declined on Friday, posting its biggest weekly fall since early February 2019, as demand waned across its vessel segments.
* The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, was down 119 points, or 4.8%, to its lowest level since mid-April at 2,379.
* The main index lost 27.3% this week.
* The capesize index shed 167 points, or 5.8%, to an over six-month low of 2,727. It posted a 43.5% weekly decline, its worst week since May-end 2020.
* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $1,390 to $22,613.
* China’s iron ore prices jumped to a seven-week high and were set for a fourth straight weekly gain, on growing hopes of a recovery in steel demand in the world’s biggest producer of the construction and manufacturing material.
* The panamax index lost 182 points, or 6.9%, to its lowest in over three weeks at 2,444. It fell 20.3% this week.
* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which ferry 60,000-70,000 tonne coal or grain cargoes, fell $1,636 to $21,994.
* The supramax index fell 45 points, or 1.8%, to 2,469, its lowest since Dec. 6.
Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021.
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