Bad Week For The Baltic Dry Index

Oct 14 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index edged up on Friday to snap a six-session losing streak, but posted its worst week since late August on sombre demand for all its vessel segments.

* The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, rose 20 points, or about 1%, to 1,838.

* However, the main index was down 6.3% for the week, its worst since late August.

* The capesize index also snapped a six-session declining streak and rose 72 points, or 3.4%, to 2,166. It was down 9.6% for the week.

* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore used in construction, were up $600 to $17,965.

* Dalian iron ore was set for its first weekly loss in five, dragged down by worries about top steel producer China’s stringent zero-COVID rules and restrictions ahead of the ruling Communist Party Congress.

* Iron ore prices are on track to end 2022 at their lowest in the last three or four years and will probably languish next year as well, with China and Europe cutting steel output, while pressure mounts from additional supply. 

* The panamax index lost 7 points, or 0.3%, to 2,081 and marked a weekly fall of about 7%.

* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, dropped $67 to $18,729.

* Meanwhile, Chicago wheat eased on hopes of progress in negotiations to maintain a Black Sea grain corridor after the previous day’s warning by Moscow that it could quit the deal. GRA/

* The supramax index was down 6 points at 1,690.

(Reporting by Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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