Freight futures contract prices continued to decline in response to the liners’ latest pricing actions. The primary selling pressure emerged in the afternoon, with most contracts closing near their intraday lows. Liquidity fell further to 25,424 contracts—the lowest level since April 2024. Open interest edged up slightly.
EC2512 continued to attract short selling throughout the day. For all EC contracts, a total of 34,224 contracts changed hands, marking one of the lighter trading sessions in terms of daily volume. Open interest rose by 1% to 79,739 contracts. For 1 September shipments, CMA CGM reduced its quoted rate from $2,420 to $2,200 per FEU, while Maersk listed $1,900 per FEU for cargo departing in the second week of September.
Freight futures extended their decline for a second consecutive day as CMA CGM and Evergreen made substantial cuts to their FAK rate quotations for sailings over the next two weeks, while Hapag-Lloyd lowered its August quotation to below $2,000 per FEU. Trading volumes remain thin, although open interest increased by 1,148 lots to reach 80,688 lots. EC2510, the benchmark contract, is approaching the 1,300 resistance level. The SCFI-Europe index, released after market close, fell 8.35% to $1,668
The freight futures listed in Shanghai dropped 1-2.7% for the day, except for EC2508 as short sellers add to their positions. Daily trading volume rebounded to 45,149, the highest in a week while the open interests have also increased by 3,174 lots to 79,540.
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