Singapore — Liquid chemical freight rates are expected to rise in the new year as fuel costs increase due to the International Maritime Organization’s 0.5% sulfur cap on marine fuels from January 2020, even as global tonnage oversupply and China’s weak demand outlook apply downward pressure, market participants said in November.

“The only place I know that tonnage is not long is Baltics,” a trader in Europe said. The impact of cost is greater on long haul voyages where the effect of the fuel price is more significant, the trader added.

Nonetheless, charterers are expecting freight rates to…