Baltic Dry Index Tops 1,300 Points as Capesize Levels Soar to Near 3-Year High

Photo: Shutterstock / Yaniv Schwartz

Sept 8 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, jumped to an over five-month high on Friday, buoyed by a surge in rates across vessel segments, especially capesizes.

The overall index — which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysizeshipping vessels — was up 36 points, or 2.78 percent, at 1,332 points.

The index rose for the fifth straight session and hit a peak since March 29.

The capesize index gained 153 points, or 5.85 percent, to 2,767 points, the strongest level for the index since November 2014.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $894 at $20,343.

The panamax index was up 24 points, or 1.78 percent, at 1,375 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, rose $197 to $11,037.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose 13 points to 888 points, and the handysize index rose five points to 504 points. (Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017.

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