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Freight Up! Fuel oil, iron ore, steel and other commodity insights from Freight Investor Services

Freight Up! Fuel oil, iron ore, steel and other commodity insights from Freight Investor Services

Auteur(s): Freight Investor Services
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À propos de cet audio

Freight and commodities. A complex industry when it comes to investment, but the Freight Investor Services broking team are here to keep you informed! Join Davide and Jess each week as they chat with the incredibly knowledgeable people from various desks within the Freight Investor Services organisation. Freight Investor Services works with professionals in the freight and commodity industry to ensure we're fully on top of all things trading! With news from our fuel oil desk and general freight updates, after listening, you'll be fully educated on your options for hedging and investment.FIS 2020-2025 Finances personnelles Politique Économie
Épisodes
  • Hedging commodities, monetary policy and crude oil fluctuations
    Jun 25 2025
    Hedging, Monetary Policy, and Oil Swings: Insights from FIS’s Latest Podcast

    This week on Freight Up, we set out to give listeners practical insights into the world of risk management across the commodity spectrum, from freight to metals to crude oil.

    If you’re looking to understand what’s really happening under the surface of today’s volatile markets, this episode features perspectives from professionals who operate right at that interface between price risk and real-world trade.

    We started with Samuel Basi, founder of Perfectly Hedged Consultancy and a former Trafigura metals trader, for a deep dive into the realities of commodity hedging in liquid and illiquid markets.

    From there, we heard from Carlo Boffa, a central bank watcher at Politico, on central bank decisions and how the evolving landscape of monetary policy is shaping the US dollar and, by extension, commodity prices.

    We wrap up with Archie Smith, oil broker, who broke down the extreme pricing swings in the oil market driven by macro shocks and geopolitical headlines, highlighting what’s front of mind for market participants right now.

    Some of the headline talking points this week include: the merits and pitfalls of one-to-one hedging in today’s market, with Sam exploring where hedging can reduce risk and where it might inadvertently add more.

    We tackled the specific challenges faced by traders and companies in less liquid markets, including practical ways to quantify risk and work with imperfect hedges—or get creative in the over-the-counter space to find coverage.

    Options came under the spotlight, especially with clients’ hesitancy to use them, and Sam gave practical context about why options sometimes get overlooked and when they can be a valuable part of a strategy.

    Companies mentioned in this episode:

    • FIS
    • Perfectly Hedged Consultancy
    • Trafigura
    • Politico
    • LME
    • CME
    • SGX
    • ICE
    • Citadel
    • GMI

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    36 min
  • Capes Climb and Arb opportunity on Iron Ore Spreads
    Jun 11 2025

    This latest episode of Freight Up tracks the markets with a strong focus on capesize bulk carriers and the shifting opportunities in iron ore spreads.

    I’m Jess, and alongside Davide, I’ll be steering you through what’s been a dynamic couple of weeks across freight and commodity markets.

    This week, we dig into why the capesize segment has outperformed, the forces shaping paper and physical market moves, and how macroeconomic shifts in China and the West are starting to make their mark.

    We also welcome Ben Klang for a guided walk through the supply side changes impacting vessel values and orders, and bring in Hao Pei from Shanghai for a deep dive on iron ore and coking coal.

    To tie it all together, Archie Smith closes with an update on what’s shaping fuel oil and crude benchmarks, and why it’s been a sideways stretch for paper spreads.

    If you listen in, you’ll get a clear overview of how China’s latest manufacturing PMI numbers and consumer price dips are casting a shadow, putting a tighter squeeze on iron ore and freight rates. We cover the upturn in capes, with spot indices making their highest push yet this year, gains on FFAs, and a turnaround in Panamaxes driven by robust South American grain flows.

    Ben helps make sense of the slowdown in secondhand vessel sales, explaining why average vessel ages are climbing and why scrapping is nearly at a standstill, even as demand feels subdued. We break down the logic: owners are holding onto older tonnage, newbuild orders have fallen to historic lows, and low earnings are nudging many to wait for clearer regulatory and market signals before acting. This creates a backdrop of supply that’s hard to clear, explaining the persistent pressure on rates.

    From the commodities desk, Hao Pei explains what’s behind the compression in the MB65-P62 iron ore spread, pointing to an unusually loose supply of premium ore, increased concentrate shipments, and why investors see more upside than risk at these levels. The episode also unpacks a sharp rebound in coking coal, as policy rumours and production cuts meet sustained low demand—a situation that looks precarious but sets the stage for future price action.

    Finally, Archie brings the fuel oil discussion up to date: crude oil’s recent climb is reviewed alongside OPEC’s output strategies and why Singapore’s high-sulphur fuel oil spreads have cooled. There’s especial attention on arbitrage opportunities and the persistent strength of European very low sulfur fuels compared to their Asian counterparts.

    By the time you’ve finished listening, you’ll be able to identify the major factors currently moving the key freight indices for capes and panamaxes, understand how vessel age and supply trends are affecting rates, and spot where different market players are seeing opportunity or sitting back. You’ll come away with a clearer sense of the iron ore and coal market mechanics, and you’ll have better insight into the drivers behind recent fuel oil and crude benchmark performances.

    Whether you’re looking to inform a trade, better time a market entry, or just get a precise read on what’s shaping dry bulk and commodity shipping, this episode will give you the ground-level detail and wider context you need.

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    23 min
  • Iron ore drops and HSFO cracks at historical highs
    May 28 2025

    Iron ore has seen a sharp drop recently, and high sulphur fuel oil cracks have surged to levels not seen before—two standout moves that framed this episode of Freight Up.

    Hi I’m Jess, and alongside Davide and the team, we walk you through what’s really driving these changes in dry bulk freight and associated commodity markets.

    You'll get to listen in at how macroeconomic shifts, from British and Chinese output data to volatile US producer prices, ripple through to capesize, panamax, and supramax freight rates.

    We pull apart the data to give you a snapshot of who’s gaining, who’s losing, and crucially, why those shifts matter for your business or your market view.

    Ben Klang takes us through the past two weeks on the freight desk, describing how minor volatility in the cape market was quickly tempered as fixtures came through and macro tensions eased.

    If you’re watching iron ore, we cover the steep pullback, tied less to headlines and more to solid fundamentals: declining pig iron output in China, seasonal maintenance, and looming Indian monsoon slowdowns. Hao Pei shares why these are seasonal and not panic-worthy moves, even if some investors have visions of iron ore dropping into the low $70s.

    On oil and bunkers, Archie Smith delivers a concise summary: crude markets haven’t escaped their range, with all eyes on the upcoming OPEC meeting, while high sulphur fuel oil cracks—historically always negative—have broken into positive territory, even hitting plus $4 in Singapore.

    Timestamped summary

    00:00 China's Industrial Growth Slows

    06:25 Capesize Market Challenges Persist

    07:03 Capesize Cargo Volumes Rising

    11:49 "Market Shifts Impact Iron Ore Demand"

    14:59 OPEC Meeting and Crude Price Outlook

    16:47 Record-High Crack Spread Highlights Trends

    Download the FIS Live app! - https://freightinvestorservices.com/

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    19 min

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