Cathay Pacific sees cargo demand pick up after Chinese National Day holidays

(Reuters) - Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways expects cargo demand to pick up after Chinese National Day holidays in the first week of October, but warned that it will not be a repeat of the "super-peak" that it recorded last year.

The airline, in its newsletter on Friday, forecast cargo demand to pick up as lifting of COVID-19 curbs in China could mean higher shipping volumes, especially during the year-end holidays — usually a frantic period for air cargo and shippers.

Cathay Pacific's views come as global trade bellwethers see lower demand as consumers struggle with surging costs of food, fuel, and housing. Earlier this month, FedEx withdrew its forecast based on an acceleration in global demand slowdown.

"The market is finely balanced at the moment, with many intricate interconnected forces at play which are creating a degree of uncertainty as we look ahead," Cathay said in the newsletter.

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)