SINGAPORE - Freight rates for capesize bulk carriers are likely to hold steady or slip next week with owners unable to push the market higher as too many ships chase limited cargo volumes, brokers said on Thursday. “Owners have been trying to push the market up, but there are still too many vessels,” a Shanghai-based capesize broker said on Thursday. Brazilian miner Vale chartered several 175,000-180,000 deadweight tonne (dwt) capesize ships this week to carry iron ore from Brazil to China, Reuters freight data showed. That included Vale fixing a vessel on Wednesday at $12.43 per tonne from Brazil to China, the Shanghai broker said. “There is more cargo there (from Brazil), but I don’t think it will push rates up too much,” a Singapore-based capesize broker said on Thursday. “Owners are offering $13 per tonne, which means they want to fix soon because they are not that confident thinking the market will pick up,” the broker said. “The Pacific market isn’t giving much support. Rates are still around $5-$5.50 per tonne,” the broker said. Rates could rise from current levels this week before levelling or edging down slightly, the brokers said. “The market is going to be flat,” the Shanghai broker said. That came as bulk freight rates are set to remain under pressure as cooling commodity demand coincides with a bigger vessel fleet, industry analysts said this week. Sokje Lee, executive director for Korea at JP Morgan, said there was a risk shipping rates could remain low for years, while other analysts and brokers thought the recovery could start next year. Charter rates for the Western Australia-China route nudged up to $5.24 per tonne on Wednesday, up from $5.19 per tonne a week ago. Rates for the Brazil-China route rose to $12.43 per tonne on Wednesday, against $11.49 per tonne the same day last week, and the highest in two weeks. Panamax rates for a north Pacific round-trip voyage fell to $5,772 per day on Wednesday, compared with $6,550 per day last week, the lowest since Sept. 14. “There is a glut of tonnage which is outpacing the volume of cargo released by charterers,” said a Singapore panamax broker. Freight rates for smaller supramax vessels were flat this week, Norwegian ship broker Fearnley said in a note on Wednesday. The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index slipped to 780 on Wednesday, from 787 last Wednesday.