According to the Baltic Exchange’s Weekly Market Roundups published on January 20, 2023:
LNG
Another tough week for LNG spot rates. The tonnage for both East and West is lengthening and though there was a report of product flowing back into Freeport, there has not been a positive affect for freight rates, which have kept falling. All three routes now sit firmly below six-digits, suffering from further falls of close to $30,000 over the week. BLNG1g our Aus-Japan was published at $79,517, although there are some who felt it could have been worse.
BLNG2g and BLNG3g suffered similar hardships. Market participants have said that liquidity for these routes has been especially hard to get with perhaps only one or two ships with the length to offer in at all for BLNG3g. Rates are falling hard again and, though volatility in LNG is expected when storage remains high, a cold season that seems unseasonably warm is creating further uncertainty in the volatility. We close out the week with BLNG2g and BLNG3g publishing at $59,075 and $73,742, respectively.
LPG
Bearish is the sentiment this week. The market has dropped on all three routes, tonnage remains long for all AG cargoes and planned maintenance in Saudi and UAE has also reduced volume so the shipping market has been quite adversely affected. Rates for BLPG1 Ras Tanura-Chiba fell by $22 this week, a total drop of $88.643 from market highs at the end of November 2022. We last published at $59.714 but within two days we lost nearly $20; a further drop cannot be ruled out as fixing now moves to last half of February.
The US market has also taken a hit, falling over $8.5 on each route; sentiment has been flailing with charterers looking happy to sit back and see. The impact of the shutdowns in the AG will also affect the US liftings, with longer tonnage and competition now looking into March dates, with a vessel already fixed for BLPG3 Houston-Chiba at $132 off end January. The remaining vessels will languish in the interim, which has hampered any gains. We close the week at $62.8 for BLPG Houston-Flushing and $115.143 for Houston-Chiba.
