Rising Capesize, Panamax Rates Buoy Baltic Dry Index

Jan 5 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, climbed on Tuesday to its highest level since mid-October last year as rates for capesize and panamax vessels extended gains.

* The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, added 44 points, or 3.2% to 1,418, a peak since Oct. 16, 2020.

* The capesize index was up 91 points, or 4.5%, to 2,099, its highest in more than two months.

* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, gained $752 to $17,408.

* China’s iron ore futures advanced for a third straight session to a one-week high on Tuesday, as concerns over tight supply pushed spot prices of the steelmaking raw material further above $160 a tonne.

* The panamax index rose 58 points, or about 4.3%, to 1,422, its highest since Dec. 17.

* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, were up $529 to $12,801.

* The supramax index edged 6 points lower to 1,022. (Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)

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