LNG

Despite the fixing window well towards the end of November, there is no sight of the winter market that the LNG world had been eagerly anticipating. Owners will be scratching their heads as to the lack of action, and as to why rates are reacting so negatively. One broker reported that with so many cargoes being resolved on the cargo side where traders are coming in with bids FOB, there is little left for the rest of the market and the ARB remains firmly shut. Rates themselves were reflective of the downturn with both the 2-stroke 174cbm and TFDE 160cbm ships losing a fair chunk of value in the week.

For BLNG1 Aus-Japan the 2-stroke ships fell by $6,600, over 10% of the value, closing at $54,500 while the TFDE 160cbm ships fell similarly down $4,800 to $39,900. BLNG2 US-Cont felt the biggest drop of the week, losing $7,500 of the starting value for the 2-strokes which gave them a close of $44,500, one of the lowest rates this year and certainly the lowest for this time of year. The TFDE didn’t fare much better falling by $6,500 and down to $33,000. It is very much the winter of discontent for some owners already. BLNG3 US-Japan was similarly affected losing $600 on the 2-stroke down to $62,400 while the TFDE lost $7,000 down to $45,000. Despite a lack of cargo and length in tonnage, many brokers were surprised that the cull in rates came this early in the season. It does not bode well that the market has taken a battering when winter tends to be volatile but positive for owners.

Period remains lacklustre. With all three periods losing value, our multi-month assessment at 6-months was down $2,500 to $73,750 while the 1-year down $2,000 published at $66,200 and the 3-year down $2,900 published at $77,500.

 

LPG

There was a pause in the meteoric rise of the LPG market this week. After a nearly 50% rise in the previous week, the activity was more muted for both regions. The MEG was by far the busiest, but with only between 3-4 requirements fixed it was still quite calm compared to last week. Rates reflected this moment of calm dropping marginally as we saw BLPG1 Ras Tanura-Chiba fall by $3.75 to close at $68, giving a TCE of $49,334. Most of the activity in the East this week originated from Australia with only one Ras Tanura cargo reported, but with a disport in India. This isn’t unusual after such volumes fixed in the last week.

For the Atlantic market there was very little to report, which has pushed sentiment down a little. With a single reported fixture out of the US going east at $121, it is very close to the closing publish price of $120.167. Rates fell over the week by $5.666 to the close of $120.167 which gave a TCE equivalent earing of $51,112. BLPG2 was very quiet, and rates were flat dropping by $1.875 to $64.5 and a TCE Earning of $66,309. Overall, a more sustained week than we have seen but the market needed a pause to catch itself after the whirlwind the week before.