Capesize spot rates took a sharp drop on Thursday as ship numbers rose in the Atlantic Basin and oil prices fell amid renewed Covid-19 lockdowns in Europe, according to brokers and analysts.

The weighted time charter equivalent (TCE) average for capesizes dropped 11.7% to $15,781 per day, according to Baltic Exchange assessments.

This marks the second straight day of declines from when rates, which flirted with $35,000 per day three weeks ago, hit $18,606 per day on Wednesday, after moving sideways since Friday.