Average Rhine water levels as measured at nine locations along the river were 2.60 meters Thursday, according to data from the German Federal Waterways, down by 24% from the beginning of the month.
However, the immediate impact of lower water levels isn`t likely to cause any significant problems for operations, with rain forecast in the coming days.
"At the moment, for a 3,000 mt size vessel, we are loading around 1,600-1,700 mt, which has meant freight has come up, but rain is coming the next few days, we expect maybe +20 cm over the next few days so I think it`s not an extreme situation," one source said.
Demand for distillate products has been slow to pick up since the start of the year. However, with falling outright rates for 10 ppm diesel and gasoil and more favorable euro-dollar exchange rates, a slight uptick in activity is heard to be supporting clean barge freight rates along some stretches of the Rhine.
"Demand for barges has been better than the last few months, we have none left on the Rhine today, the earliest loading will not be until next week now, so it`s certainly looking better," the source added.
Rotterdam-Cologne rates were pegged at $11.15/mt Wednesday for 1,000-5,00 mt sized clean product barges, up $3.40/mt from the start of the month, with Rotterdam-Karlsruhe also up $5.75/mt to $19.25/mt Wednesday, according to Platts data.