How the major dry bulk commodities drive the freight market into Q4

  The world is in the midst of the second coronavirus wave and with that comes the natural question of how the current dynamics will play out for the dry bulk shipping market. Demand and the subsequent cargo flow of the major dry bulk commodities are critical for the freight market, as we enter the final quarter of the year. Iron ore …has without question performed well this year, on occasion even better than gold, driven by the robust demand generated by China, as the world’s leading iron ore consumer. In the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, the actions taken by the Chinese government to limit the impact of the pandemic and reignite the country’s economy, bore fruits. Earlier in the year, the Asian nation announced a number of stimulus packages put forward to support its economy, with a great deal of them concentrated on metals-intensive infrastructure projects. Since China is outsourcing from overseas most of the iron ore needed for its steel production, this meant augmented seaborne demand for the raw steelmaking ingredient.