* Owners to put a floor under rates - broker
* Lower bunker costs buoy earnings - broker
By Keith Wallis
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Freight rates for capesize bulk carriers, which have fallen to their lowest level in more than four months, are set to slip further in the coming days, although owners appear to be resisting charterers' attempts to push rates substantially down, brokers said.
"Rates should reach a floor soon. But it doesn't look as if they have reached a floor just yet," said a Singapore-based capesize broker on Thursday.
"It's all looking pretty grim. The market is a bit of a shocker," the broker said.
Capesize rates have dropped to around $4.35 per tonne for a voyage from Australia to China and $9.70 per tonne from Brazil to China.
"I think owners will work together to save rates going below $4 per tonne (from Australia to China)," said a Shanghai-based capesize broker.
While rates have fallen back to levels seen in April, owners now benefit from lower bunker prices which are currently around $250 per tonne compared with about $320 per tonne in April.
"Earnings are not as bad as they were at the beginning of the year," the Shanghai broker said.
Charterers fixed more than 25 capesize vessels in the last week but the large volume of tonnage available for hire meant freight prices continued to fall, brokers said.
Charter rates for the Western Australia-China route .BAWB dropped to around $4.37 a tonne on Wednesday, down from $5.74 a tonne a week ago, the lowest since April 15.
Rates for the Brazil-China route .BATB fell to $9.92 per tonne on Wednesday, compared with $13.58 per tonne a week earlier, and the lowest since April 15.
But freight rates from Brazil to China were trending lower after Cargill fixed the 176,419 dwt (deadweight tonne) capesize ship Excel at $9.70 per tonne.
Freight rates for smaller panamax vessels could steady next week with tonnage supply matched to cargo demand, a Singapore-based panamax ship broker said on Thursday.
Panamax rates for a north Pacific round trip voyage .BPHJ , nudged higher to $6,783 per day on Wednesday, the highest since July 30, and up from $6,506 per day the same day last week.
Freight rates in the Pacific for smaller supramax vessels are stable with cargo demand balanced with tonnage supply, Norwegian ship broker Fearnley said in a note on Wednesday.
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index .BADI fell to 918 on Wednesday, down from 1,031 a week earlier. Technical analysis showed the benchmark is expected to test support at 950 in a week, with a good chance of falling further to the next support at 866.