Looking at the state of the Dry Bulk market exactly a year ago, there is no doubt that there is a significant improvement and despite the fact that there are still many challenges, there is now also more hope that things are finally moving towards the right direction. On 11 February 2016 the BDI was at its historical lows, touching 290 points, while during that first quarter many vessels remained unfixed for long periods as in most cases below OPEX rates made no sense even for repositioning. Laying-ups naturally followed and extremely bad psychology led to extremely low asset prices, which even at historical low levels failed in many cases to ignite buying interest especially for vessels approaching 15 years of age. As the market gradually started improving towards the end of the summer,

As the market gradually started improving towards the end of the summer, sentiment also strengthened, helping the BDI climb above 1,000 points during the last quarter of the year. This improvement brought buying interest back, even from owners who had been inactive for years in the second-hand market. What is impressive though is the fact that even today, with the index standing at below 700 points, buying interest remains exceptionally strong despite the fact that prices remain firm – and in some cases even higher than what they were just before Christmas.

The full report can be found here

Source: http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/intermodal-weekly-market-report-week-06-2017-brokers-insight/