Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange declines further to new record low of 310 points

UNITED KINGDOM February 03 2016 2:34 PM     

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main  sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities  declined further to new record low level of 310 points on Tuesday as concerns of  weak global demand and vessel oversupply weighed on the sector.

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 4 points to a historic low of 310 on Tuesday.

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  Monday, February 02 2016, when the index dropped to 310 points.