The EC futures contracts continued to decline, accompanied by slightly lower trading volume. Open interest also began to decrease. Overnight, HMM reduced its quotation for February shipments to $2,200 per FEU, down from $2,400 per FEU. Utilization edged up with two above trend line sailings.
The EC container freight futures dropped this morning on strong volume, as the relief rally from the previously bearish sentiment has completed. Traders will now need to see some level of success from the March 1 GRI to validate the 20-50% rally that occurred last week. Utilization for ships that departed this week remains at a decent level; however, the extremely light MSC VENICE has dragged down the moving average. Liners continue to reduce their online quotations overnight. CMA CMG join Hapa
EC freight futures surged following the Chinese New Year holidays, with April-December 2025 contracts rising by 20% to 53% in the shortened 4 day trading week. Average daily trading volumes and open interest positions both increased by 19% on strong trading interest sparked by the potential escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after the US proposal to take over Gaza was rejected by the majority of the Arab states. Several EC contracts hit their upper daily trading limits on 7 and 10 Fe
Container freight futures market re-opened after Chinese New Year holidays with a sell-off on average volume as traders taking stocks of the changes over the past week where both MSC and CMA CGM join Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, Maersk and ONE to offer sub $3000 per FEU freight rates for shipments embarking in second half of February. Vessel utilization over the past seven days received a boost from a last-minute rush and the blank sailings starting this week. However, this uptick is unlikely to be sustai
EC freight futures recovered most of their YTD losses last week in active trading with volumes rebounding by 23% while open interest shrunk by 17% as some traders closed their short positions ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays. The International Energy Exchange (INE), where EC contracts are listed, will be closed from 28 January to 4 February. End February contracts (EC2502) remained largely unchanged and now trades at an 18% discount to latest spot rates after the SCFIS slipped by a furthe
Longer-dated contracts continue to rebound, primarily due to short covering as traders speculate on the schedule of liners' return to Red Sea. FAK quotations from liners have remained largely unchanged, with liners still holding at the low $3,000 level, consistent with the current EC2502 price. However, vessel utilization continues to trend downward.
The longer-dated contracts rebounded with high volume as traders re-assessed the schedule for liners' return to the Red Sea. Meanwhile, CMA CGM announced that the "CMA CGM COLUMBA will sail through the Suez Canal to call at the port of Jeddah as part of a single ad hoc call. Vessels on the EPIC service will therefore not systematically transit through the Suez Canal." ONE has revised its online spot quotation from $2,228 to $3,100 per FEU to remain in the pack with other liners. However, freigh
EC freight futures slid further following the Gaza ceasefire agreement, pushing the forward curve further into backwardation. The SCFIS spot index fell by 14.5% week-on-week, but forward rates are expected to drop by a further 55%-65% over the next 12 months. Average daily trading volume rebounded by 36% week-on-week, exceeding 75,000 lots per day, while open interest rose by 11%, approaching 2024 highs. The EC2502 contract held its ground with a relatively small 2% drop but trading volumes dro
The EC experienced a sell-off this morning following the ceasefire deal in Gaza. While it remains uncertain when the liners will return to the Suez/Red Sea, most EC contracts are already trading at levels not seen since mid-December 2023. There has been no new utilization data since yesterday, and the liner's FAK online quotations have decreased.
EC contracts continued to decline as traders anticipated a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas before the end of March. The near-term fundamentals in the physical market are also weak, as the pre-Lunar New Year cargo rush has been insufficient to counter the highest capacity deployment on the Far East to North Europe route in two years, resulting in falling head haul vessel utilization. Liners have continued to slash their online quotations. Traders expressed their bearish outlook, primari