Baltic index rises on higher capesize demand

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose on Monday, snapping a 12-day long losing streak, buoyed by stronger rates for capesize vessels.

The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, was up 15 points, or 1.2%, at 1,282.

The capesize index rose 59 points, or 3.2%, to 1,898.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $489 at $15,737.

Dalian iron ore futures rose on Monday snapping a four-session losing streak on strong demand outlook for the steelmaking ingredient in China

Iron ore stockpiles at Chinese ports had jumped to 118.95 million tonnes as of Sept. 11, the highest level since April 10, SteelHome consultancy data showed.

The panamax index was down 13 points, or 0.99 %, at 1,300.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, fell $113 to $11,704.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index slipped three points to 914, while the handysize index fell two points to 558.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)