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Across the window 10 to 20 April 2026 the two dominant cross-currents shaping Q2-Q3 2026 freight positioning are a dry-bulk front-end rally built on supply-side Pilbara tightness and Brazilian concentration rather than Chinese demand (BofA, GS and JPM all holding structurally bearish iron-ore calls on 2027 surplus and Chinese steel oversupply per 6 April 2026 research cited by Argus and Mining.com) and a tanker/container/gas regime repriced entirely around the twin Hormuz-closure + Red-Sea-diversion shock, where paper TD3C and LR2 indices are dislocated from physical fixing, LNG and VLGC spikes are driven by Qatari outage and Panama queue rather than end-demand, and a key asymmetric trade flagged by Kpler and Tankers International is FFA backwardation across tanker curves pricing Q3 normalisation against physical supply that cannot rebalance until Hormuz reopens and Golden Pass, Venture Global CP2 and SimFer all ramp on their announced schedules.
The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East has had a significant impact not only on crude oil and petroleum product supplies, but has also materially constrained fertilizer exports from countries in the region.
Chinese rebar exports have increased amid weak domestic demand and low margins, though export growth is constrained by foreign quality requirements and limited profit potential.
Rebar prices in China have dropped to near break-even levels, resulting in razor-thin margins for producers and prompting many to consider output reductions to avoid persistent losses.
Steady construction growth is driving rebar demand in Southeast Asia, but stable prices and high costs keep producer margins tight despite stronger local supply.
Southeast Asia:
Rebar Markets & Supply Chain
Rebar Markets & Supply Chain