The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Tuesday for a second straight day as labour holidays led to a subdued market and analysts expected rates to be flat over this week.
The overall index, which reflects the daily freight market prices for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, fell three points or 0.26 percent to 1,152 points.
The Baltic's panamax index fell 0.7 percent, with average daily earnings down to $13,677. After the recent push, a notable number of charterers appeared more willing to sit back and take stock of the market rather than fix quickly at current levels, ship broker BRS said in its weekly report.
"The expectation for the coming week is therefore more flat than in recent weeks," it added. The Baltic's capesize index dropped 0.13 percent to 1,494 points.
"Some fresh cargos were reported in the Atlantic market but there was still a long list of ships," BRS said.
"The current week may be a little better with a shorter list of available ships."
Average daily earnings for handysize rose to $9,033, however rates for supramax ships were down at $11,486.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, has fallen about 34 percent this year.
Source: Reuters