Dry bulk freight rates poised to rise as Hormuz crisis bolsters coal demand
- A substitution effect could occur where power plants burn more coal instead of crude oil products or gas to mitigate rising costs
- One industry player expects dry bulk freight rates to go higher in the next six to nine months
- Southeast Asia and northeast Asia has been firing more coal since the crisis. But bottlenecks have limited the switch
Dry bulk indexes have already risen, supported by the crisis in Iran. But discussions at Singapore Maritime Week suggest that there is more room for gains, with tighter crude oil and gas supplies possibly driving up rates later this year
