Quiet day and not much news flows. EC2510 dropped 1.33% for the day. Trading volume is thin as traders regard the contracts are already fairly priced. Some more liquidations on EC2510 and surprisingly also EC2512.
The smaller-than-expected SCFIS decline after market close yesterday (18 Aug) lifted EC2508 by 2% today, while the other contracts slipped by less than 1% on thin volume of 34,375 contracts. Total open interest decreased by 519 to 77,773 contracts. Maersk listed $2,100 per FEU FAK rates for shipment departing first week of September, same for shipment departing last week of August.
The freight futures market edged higher again today, though the main activity was a continued liquidation of EC2510 positions. The 1.1% rise in EC2510 was therefore largely the result of short covering. Despite pricing in a downcycle over the next 12 months, futures traders remain firmly of the view that (1) liners will be able to push up freight rates during each seasonal uplift in volume, and (2) $2,000 per FEU is a strong resistance level. The SCFI Europe index, released after the close, fel
Prices for longer-dated contracts rebounded slightly on thinner volumes and some liquidations. The benchmark EC2510 contract edged down 0.18%, while open interest fell by 4,042 to 56,698 contracts — possibly an early sign that long-position holders are throwing in the towel. Vessel utilization for the first 9 sailings of Far East-North Europe route this week rebounded to 96% but still below the peak of 97% in July. Track vessel utilization here. Hapag Lloyd lowered its quotations for the Augus
The debate over where freight rates will settle in October continues. Short-sellers came in this morning with fresh capital, pushing all contract prices lower. Yet it would be remiss not to note that open interest has risen to 87,000, indicating that long-position holders have not only resisted liquidating but have, on the contrary, added to their positions. Based on the exchange’s broker-level open interest report, most of the increase in long positions reflects new entries, indicating a wave o
The SCFIS index to North Europe dropped for the 4th consecutive week, shedding 2.7% on 11 August to 2,235 points with further weakness expected through October, with EC2508 and EC2510 trading at a 7% and 37% discount. Average EC trading volumes dropped to 50,000 contracts last week but open interest rose 9% on the week to above 80,523. The EC2510 contract is now the most hotly traded, with 56,688 open positions—the third‑highest on record, behind only EC2404 and EC2406 positions in December 2023
Another wave of bottom fishers entered the market, this time focusing on EC2510, which has now become one of the most hotly contested freight futures contracts, closing with open interest at 56,602 contracts—the third highest after EC2404 and EC2406. Nevertheless, EC2510 gave back most of its earlier gains by the market close, though it still ended the day up 1.34%. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) reported a 4.4% weekly decline to 1,961, which translates to around $3,250 per FEU
Despite a decline in prices for most freight futures contracts listed in Shanghai, the market remained resilient, as today’s drop occurred on much lighter volume than yesterday. Both EC2510 and EC2512 closed near the day’s highs. Traders continue to show strong conviction that spot freight rates will not fall below $2,100 per FEU through June 2026, with a seasonal uptick expected in December potentially testing the $2,900 per FEU level. In the physical market, the liners are mostly offering $28
Contrarian traders entered the market this morning, driving up the prices of all futures contracts except for the EC2508. Although most contracts surrendered the majority of their gains by the close, all long-dated contracts still finished higher on the day. Furthermore, open interest rebounded to 78,000 from 74,000 yesterday. The EC2510 alone has an open interest of 54,361 contracts, representing approximately $500 million in value. This indicates that there is no shortage of bullish sentiment
EC2510, the benchmark contract for Far East–North Europe freight futures listed in Shanghai, is currently the most hotly contested in the market. Bulls argue the contract is undervalued based on technical analysis—price charts suggest a bottom is forming around 1,450—while bears point to fundamental signals from the physical market, noting freight rates peaked during the last two weeks of July. On Wednesday (July 30), EC2510 opened higher on strong volume as bulls speculated that a typhoon appr