Reputable industry sourcessay nearly three dozen fixtures were sealed Friday, which caught many off guardsince a figure this high has not been seen in over a month.

Others are quick to point outthat activity tends to be particularly low on Fridays leading up to three-day holidayweekends, which is why they found the count “especially encouraging”.

A leading market forecaster whospoke to TradeWinds about the development this afternoon argued the surge issign that a spike in freight rates is on the horizon.

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