Freight rates in the Atlantic Panamax sector held steady on Wednesday amid signs that recent rises may be stalling, brokers said. "The Atlantic is holding up well, but the question is not whether the Panamax market will rally further, but when the Atlantic will come off," one said. Until then, Atlantic and Pacific Panamax rates were expected to remain steady. Signs that the market was reaching its pinnacle were heralded by the Baltic Panamax Index (BPI) on Monday, when rises in both the Atlantic and Pacific were noticeably smaller. The trend persisted on Tuesday, and by Wednesday the BPI rose just two points to 1,436. Freight rates remained high enough, however, to encourage charterers to continue with timecharter deals.