Stronger Panamaxes Drive up Baltic Sea Freight Index

March 5 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, made minor gains on Thursday on higher rates for the panamax and smaller vessel segments.

The overall index, which factors in average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, rose two points, or 0.36 percent, to 561 points.

The panamax index was up seven points, or 1.22 percent, at 583 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, were up $54 at $4,669.

The supramax index climbed 10 points to 560 points while the handysize index was up 10 points at 348 points.

Average daily earnings for supramax vessels rose $102 to $5,857, while earnings for handysize vessels gained $137 to $5,056.

The capesize index dropped 14 points, or 2.93 percent, to 464 points.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell $217 to $4,762. (Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman)

(c) 2015 Thomson Reuters, All Rights Reserved

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