Baltic Dry Index Headed for the 200’s

Feb 3 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying industrial commodities, tumbled to another fresh low on Wednesday on worries about vessel oversupply and slowing global demand.

The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell seven points or 2.26 percent to 303 points.

The index has yet to register a single session of gains this year, recording new lows in 21 of the 23 sessions.

A slowdown in the Chinese economy, which grew at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century in 2015, and a huge over-capacity in vessels has hit the index hard.

The capesize index fell eight points or 3.69 percent to 209 points.

Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $47 to $2,775.

The panamax index rose two points, or 0.71 percent, to 284 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, rose $15 to $2,275.

The handysize index and the supramax index fell nine points to 203 points, and to 280 points respectively. (Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.

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