Rates for capesize bulk carriers, which have remained close to six-year lows for the last three months, are likely to show little sign of improvement next week as too many ships chase too few cargoes, brokers said. “There is very little to be joyous about and it’s hard to find any positives,” a Singapore-based capesize broker said on Thursday. “Owners and charterers are playing a cat and mouse game over rates.” While owners are trying to push for slightly higher freight rates, charterers are holding cargo to push rates down. “The market is flat as a pancake. It’s going to be like this going forward - it’s hard to see a way out,” the Singapore broker said. Slightly higher chartering activity in the Atlantic may have a positive impact on forward rates which could improve overall market sentiment, said a Shanghai-based capesize broker. But both the Atlantic and Pacific markets had too much tonnage, the Shanghai broker said. Average freight rates on all routes except Brazil to China are below operating costs, data from British shipping services firm Clarkson showed this week. “Ships in the Pacific are lucky if they get $4,000 per day (in charter income),” the Singapore broker said. Daily operating costs for a capesize ship are about $7,300, according to accountancy firm Moore Stephens. Charter rates for the Western Australia-China route were around $4.34 per tonne on Wednesday, down slightly from $4.38 per tonne a week ago. Rates are still close to $4.12 per tonne reached on Jan. 12, the lowest since December 2008. Rates for the Brazil-China route slipped to $9.84 per tonne on Wednesday, down from $9.87 per tonne a week earlier. That was the weakest since Jan. 9 when they fell to $9.65, the lowest since January 2009. Freight rates in the smaller panamax market could firm next week in the Pacific on tightened vessel supply as owners send ships to the east coast of South America to take advantage of higher rates hauling grain, a Singapore-based panamax broker said. Rates for a panamax transpacific voyage rose to $4,286 per day on Wednesday, up from $4,236 per day last Wednesday. Freight rates for smaller supramax bulk carriers were flat as charterers capped owners attemps to push rates higher, Fearnley said in a report on Wednesday. The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index closed up at 586 on Wednesday, against 580 last week. Technical analysis showed the benchmark has stabilised around a support at 580.