Tuesday opens with bunkers the freshest data point on the board. Singapore, Rotterdam and Fujairah all settled Monday, 21 September, and posted broad-based declines across VLSFO and MGO. The Baltic Exchange’s own index prints, by contrast, still carry Friday’s (18 September) close forward: HandyBulk’s daily summary, Marcenta’s sole source for the five headline indices, has not posted a fresh numeric close for Monday at the time of writing, so today’s Baltic figures below remain last Friday’s confirmed levels rather than a new print. Brent crude is trading live this morning at $102.10/bbl, up 1.75%, reversing Monday’s pullback as attention returns to the state of US-Iran discussions.

Bunkers eased further at every hub Marcenta tracks. VLSFO closed at $857.00/mt in Singapore (-36.50), $700.50/mt in Rotterdam (-9.50) and $986.00/mt in Fujairah (-9.50). MGO moved the same way, and by larger absolute amounts: $1,351.00/mt in Singapore (-44.50), $1,448.00/mt in Rotterdam (-34.50) and $1,665.50/mt in Fujairah (-39.50). The Fujairah MGO-over-VLSFO spread has widened again to just under $680/mt even as outright levels fall, keeping distillate exposure a live cost line for handysize and supramax owners transiting the Gulf.

On the Baltic, the last confirmed close (Friday, 18 September) put the BDI at 3,370, up 34 points on the day and the fourth consecutive daily gain. Capesize did the heavy lifting: the BCI added 112 points to 5,768, with average daily earnings up $1,019 to $52,315. Supramax and handysize both firmed, the BSI up 5 points to 1,767 (earnings $22,332, +$57) and the BHSI up 8 points to 988 (earnings $17,776, +$143). Panamax was the outlier, the BPI slipping 31 points to 2,251 as average earnings fell $273 to $20,262, a segment still searching for Atlantic support even as the rest of the complex firmed into the weekend.

The Baltic Exchange’s Week 38 roundup (14-18 September) remains the latest published route-level detail. C5 (West Australia-Qingdao) opened the week in the low $17s, eased into the mid-$16s (around $16.50) as Pacific tonnage outweighed fresh cargo demand, then stabilised into the close as sentiment steadied. C3 (Tubarao-Qingdao) told the stronger story, firming through the week into the low-to-mid $42s (around $42.30), with the best October-dates fixtures approaching $43 as sustained Atlantic fixing reduced both cargo availability and the number of ballasters.

Elsewhere, Jinhui Shipping and Transportation signed contracts on 21 September for two additional 64,500 dwt ultramax bulk carriers at Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering, valued at roughly $35.7 million each, or $71.4 million combined, with delivery scheduled for August and September 2029. The order adds to a steady run of ultramax ordering this year and is a reminder that owners are still committing capital to the segment despite a Panamax tape that has struggled to find sustained support.

What we are watching this week: whether HandyBulk posts a fresh Baltic close confirming whether Monday’s session extended the BDI’s gains or reversed them, since until it does today’s index levels should be read as last Friday’s print rather than live; whether Brent’s overnight bounce holds or fades as quickly as Monday’s dip, and what that does to Fujairah’s MGO premium; and whether Panamax finds the Atlantic bid it has been missing, or whether continuing ultramax and supramax newbuilding adds further competitive pressure lower down the size curve.