Baltic index rises on firmer vessel rates

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose for a 25th consecutive session on Thursday, helped by improving demand for all vessel segments.

The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 20 points, or 1.1%, to 1,823, its highest since Oct. 17.

The index has gained 67.2% so far this year, driven mainly by a recovery in demand for iron-ore from China as industrial activity picked up amid easing coronavirus-induced lockdowns.

The Baltic capesize index gained 31 points, or 0.7%, to 4,264.

However, average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport cargoes of 170,000 tonnes to 180,000 tonnes, including iron ore and coal, rose by $438 to $31,377.

The panamax index inched 2 points higher to 1,257.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, increased by $19 to $11,317.

The supramax index edged 7 points higher to 693.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)