China's growing demand for commodities, such as iron ore, grain and coal, will push up freight rates for dry-bulk goods carriers from July onward, said Pareto Securities AS, an Oslo-based investment bank during a recent industry forum in Copenhagen.

Nicolai Hansteen, chief economist at Pareto Shipping, a unit of the bank, said the outlook has enhanced the shipping industry's confidence in dry-bulk goods. Though rates for the second quarter of this year will remain low, a recovery is expected in the latter half of this year, he said.

China now accounts for 40 percent of the world's dry-bulk imports. By 2016, the country's total imports are expected to exceed 500 million metric tons, Hansteen added.