UNITED KINGDOM February 01 2016 10:01 AM    

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main  sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities  plummeted further to another record low level of 317 points on Friday mainly due  to lower crude oil prices and the bleak demand outlook for raw commodities from  China.

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 kept  the index exploring new all-time lows for most of 2016. The index has fallen  over 10 percent last week.

The Baltic Dry Index, which provides an  assessment of the price of moving the major raw materials – such as coal, iron  ore and grain – by sea by taking in 23 shipping routes measured on a time  charter basis, fell by another 8 points to a historic low of 317 on  Friday.

The index is based on a daily survey of agents all over the  world. Baltic Dry hit a temporary peak on May 20, 2008, when the index hit  11,793. The lowest level ever reached was on Friday, January 29 2016, when the  index dropped to 317 points.