Baltic Dry Index Logs Best Week in Months

Dec 16 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index .BADI rose on Friday and posted its biggest weekly percentage gain since late-September, buoyed by strong demand for capesize vessels.

* The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, rose 32 points, or about 2.1%, at 1,560, its highest since Oct. 27.

* The main index gained 12.6% for the week, its biggest weekly gain since Sept. 23.

* The capesize index .BACI was up 113 points, or about 5.4%, to its highest in more than eight weeks at 2,208. It posted a weekly gain of 31.2%.

* Average daily earnings for capesizes .BATCA, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore, increased $938 to $18,312.

* Dalian iron ore was bound for a third straight weekly rise on Friday on optimism over China’s economic recovery prospects in 2023, with traders largely brushing aside a wave of local COVID-19 infections. IRONORE/

* The panamax index .BPNI lost 6 points, or about 0.4%, at 1,652. It was down 0.4% for the week. 

* Average daily earnings for panamaxes .BPWT, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, decreased $55 to $14,869.

* The supramax index .BSIS shed 10 points at 1,157, although it gained 0.4% for the week.

(Reporting by Ananya Bajpai in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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