Panamax coal freight rates on established routes from South Africa's Richards Bay and Indonesia to India fell Wednesday, as lack of cargoes and vessel oversupply weighed down on the market, sources said.
"Supramaxes are doing well, but Panamaxes and Capesizes are in a bad shape," a Singapore-based source said.
He said the Supramax freight rate from South Kalimantan to the east coast of India was approaching the $12/mt mark, up almost $1 from last week, while Panamax rates continued to head south.
A Panamax was widely reported to have been fixed from South Kalimantan to the west coast of India at $6.50/mt with high loading and discharge rates, sources said.
A second Singapore-based source said that due to the high loading and discharging rates and also "fairly low port dues", this fixture seemed to have been possible at such a lower freight rate.
"It's a very competitive price," an India-based source said, referring to the Panamax fixture.
Platts assessed the daily Panamax freight rate from South Kalimantan to the west coast of India at $9.20/mt and the east coast at $8/mt, both down 50 cents from Tuesday.
"Things remained in the red for another week in the Panamax sector," Greek shipbroker Intermodal said in its weekly note on Tuesday.
"The previous rally during the final week of November now seems to have been only a temporary fluke and the market has once again showed its true colors," the broker added.
The vessel oversupply issue will hold currently and will be one of the major factors affecting the freight market next year, Intermodal said.
Looking ahead, freight rates are expected to be more depressed next year, the second Singapore-based source said.
He said not many vessels were ballasting to India due to the lack of return cargoes.
The Pacific basin is leading the downward push as lack of fresh inquiries and "overwhelming" number of open vessels were more than the market could sustain, Intermodal said.
As the holidays approach, the freight market has been largely inactive as the bulk of the fixtures have already been done, a third Singapore-based source said.
Shipowners who are yet to fix their vessels will have a tough time finding counterparties next week as most of them would be away on holidays, he added.
Platts assessed the daily Panamax freight rate from Richards Bay to the west coast of India at $13.60/mt and to the east coast at $14.50/mt, both down 30 cents on-day.
