Talk of super cycle dismissed
Experts at this week’s Baltic Freight and Commodity Dry Bulk Forum, part of Singapore Maritime Week, downplayed talk of a commodity super cycle, which has been raising pulses in the sector.
But while they stopped short of acknowledging the super cycle, they did agree that there is a cyclical upturn taking place and that dry bulk operators can look forward to continued positivity for the foreseeable future.
Panellist Rahul Kapoor, vice president and global head of commodity analytics and research, maritime and trade at IHS Markit, noted that commodity demand will remain firm in the medium term, largely supported by strength in the Chinese economy, which escaped a significant hit from Covid-19. He saw commodity demand combined with ship supply normalisation as underpinning growth.