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Home MarketsDry Bulkcarriers Falling BDI@933 and Wets too; Geopolitical tremors are now felt…

Falling BDI@933 and Wets too; Geopolitical tremors are now felt…

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John Faraclas

The BDI (Baltic Dry Index) fell nine points earlier on today from yesterday’s 942 points and 44 points since last Friday the 21st of July when it stood at 977; a midsummers’ mess. Geopolitics are looking more than explosive in all fronts. John Faraclas’ daily and weekly recap:

The Capers’ BCI was the only size and index that had a plus symbol, even for one point  – now reading 1,139; on a weekly basis it lost 15 points – from 1,154…

The Panamaxes where the day’s and week’s losers; the BPI was down 37 points earlier on today and now stands at 1,109. It lost 149 points since last week’s 1,258… CAUTION or what can you say as the most promising and favourable size goes down with a triple figure from last week…

The Supras’ BSI was down nine and at 789 points raises eyebrows… On a weekly basis it recorded a 23 point loss – from 812.

The Handies’ BHSI following a week’s stagnation lost two points losing the 500 point-threshold – now at 498. On a weekly basis the loss was minimal; just one point from 499…

The Wets were also heading downwards; contained fall but fall. The last published BDTI (Dirties) and BCTI (Cleans) stood at 644 and 535 – down three and six points respectively. On a weekly basis the Dirties lost five (from 649) and the Cleans lost three (from 548).

So, all in all Dry and Wet Markets in dire straits, but be cool provided you can afford all this mess; otherwise expect and accept the “inevitable” that shipping is only for the very very very few. It was these last two days when everybody was expecting to see the BDI above the 1,000 point mark and the Dry Market fell; equally for the Wets anticipating a 700 and 600 levels for the Dirties and Cleans respectively…

The WTI stands right now at US$ 49.62 and that sends alarm bells for the poor. It is a must for the WTI to remain below the US$ 50 mark…. Too difficult to contain a popular uprising…

The Geopolitics, as said in the preamble, are in the worse possible state given the USA / Russian mess with sanctions and other issues. What will president Trump do if president Putin’s respond is asymmetrical? Will Putin dare proceed with alternative means damaging further the USA/ Russian relationship at a very delicate moment in Global history?

The MIGRANTS issue … “erupts” further; Libya for example considers the Italian military force – Naval ships, air support and 700 sailors, an intrusion of “Libya’s national sovereignty a red line that nobody must cross” the Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj said and that was a …”different agreement so to speak”… A couple of days ago France’s president Macron tried his own recipe… CAUTION. Please see our last two reports yesterday and on Wednesday and see the escalation and the issues surrounding the Migrants issue… Moreover according to media sources, in a serious so to speak note/letter to Paolo Gentilone, Italy’s PM last week,  the Visegrad group – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, pledged financial support for Italian efforts to reduce the flow of irregular migrants from Libya and elsewhere. There is a total mess and total different perceptions in tackling the MIGRANTS issue not just in Europe, but all over. Some talk about “vetting” peripheral check points and hot spots” in the entire sub-Sahara regions… Actions which will not lead to a total mass MIGRANTS movement is needed, a coherent policy with pragmatism and not with sort-sighted “methods”. Greece and its Eastern Aegean Islands get the wrath of Turkey… All this is happening as there isn’t any real knowledge from the politicians in the EU and they keep a blind eye. SHAME!

The Wars in Syria and Iraq against ISIS and others continue and as yet there isn’t a timetable particularly from the Russians when their objective ends; what will be the day after? Will Assad remain? Will Syria follow the  former Yugoslavia’s split-up scenario? When greater Kurdistan is going to be announced officially? Expect further mess in the entire region with the addition of Israel’s fears for its citizens security… Mess, mess, total mess; the worse is that the nearby Suez Canal might close or even that the Red Sea might become a close lake so to speak given a possible closure of the Straits in Aden…The events in the Arabian Peninsula are NOT over yet and coupled with the entire Middle East’s over a century now running issues “supported” with the vulnerable Northern Africa Coast, might produce tsunamis far beyond that in  Sicily back  in 1908 which by the way caused the death between 75,000 to 200,000 people… The parallelism is for all to wake up and become politically correct, humane and change the regimes in those countries being the real cause of all these MIGRANTS movement… Does the UN really exists and if so what has been achieved so far in the last 20 (twenty) years of MIGRANTS despicable movements? Does the EU has a coherent policy? What is the USA as a superpower doing for this? Enough as the MIGRANTS  – as said above and in the past, might disrupt shipping – shipping lanes and the dire straits…

Turkey continues to run terror internally after all enemies of the Erdogan regime/clique are prosecuted and externally continues to pester everybody – Greece and Cyprus in particular. Everyday there will be intrusions of the Turkish air force violating Greece’s and EU’s airspace and from Turkish naval ships in Greece’s and EU’s territorial waters. What if Greece proceeds with declaring its EEZ? We have seen the way the Turks behave against the Cypriot EEZ… We have numerous times, everyday more or less written about both the Turkish despicable provocations and simultaneously the despicable and conspicuous silence from NATO and EU?? So is it that strong weapon,  the Turkish-style  blackmail …doing wonders?? Eh!

Next door in Greece things might get sour and be prepared for major surprises… One way or another though this terrorization of the Greek people must end before it is too late. The blame rest s with all 300 MP’s currently in the Greek Parliament, their predecessors and the EU – lenders and pesters! We provoke all parties including the noblemen and noble-ladies from Brussels for a live TV debate in an A1 TV medium!

BREXIT will continue with its twists and turns for the foreseeable …future which begins after March 2019 if, all things being equal, the “process” for the exodus proceeds as per plan – many worry that there isn’t a plan. The Plan though should have existed in the piles of documents on Treaties etc etc., in Brussels, end of the story! Like in all issues in life and in the world we live in, the reality we see is NOT the reality that exists! In this instance though where is the reality and the process when a nation wishes to leave the EU? Mind me there is also the possibility of a GREXIT followed by other …EXITs… It’s all in the cards…

At the other side of the Atlantic there is plentiful to attract your immediate interest; new CoS in the White House and many more things going within the House of Representatives and the Senate; sanctions against Russian, Iran, North Korea and multiple of investigations. Is there a storm similar to Shakespeare’s Tempest and if so who can weather this storm?

A bit south now; in South America, Venezuela is going for a show-down this coming Sunday; be prepared for everything… In Brazil and in particular in the State of Rio 10,000 (ten thousand) troops have been deployed in the fight against organised crime – on the rise a year after the end of the Olympiad there…

In the Far East, North Korea with the conspicuous support from its backers is testing our patience and again its tests might lead to an accident – which looks likely to happen and reprisals of incalculable magnitude… Again disruptive shipping might cause a financial domino effect, given the Chinese exports, Japan’s collateral troubles, South Korean’s possible impossible living… These are not fake news, it might happen as the Icelandic volcano disrupted normal life for a while testing us how discipline we were; remember those days…from the eruption of Eyjafjallajoekull Volcano…? Can North Korea’s ICBM’s reach the USA? CAUTION!!

In Africa; what’s up with Boko Haram in Nigeria following another battle there; among the dead are soldiers and five members of an oil exploration team… CAUTION!

Have a nice evening and enjoy the weekend, but be on guard for and from any eventuality emanating from Pirates and Terrorists wherever you are on Planet Ocean!

Uploaded 22:08 BST

Updated 23:38 BST

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