Baltic Dry Index Continues to Slide

Dec 7 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities fell on Monday on sliding demand across nearly all vessel segments.

The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping cargoes including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell 12 points, or 2.13 percent, to 551 points.

The dry cargo shipping industry has been hurt this year by the global commodities meltdown and a wave of ship deliveries, and more vessels are expected to become operational in the coming months.

The Baltic index is seen by investors as an indicator of global industrial activity.

The capesize index fell 38 points, or 4.27 percent, to 852 points as average daily earnings for capesize vessels fell $341 to $7,522. Capesizes typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.

The panamax index, for ships that usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, dropped seven points, or 1.62 percent, to 426 points. Average daily earnings for panamaxes fell by $54 to $3,404.

Among smaller vessels, the handysize index remained unchanged at 286 points, and the supramax index fell four points to 465 points. (Reporting by Nithin Prasad in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)

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