Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange advances further

UNITED KINGDOM February 16 2016 1:35 PM     

LONDON(Scrap Register): The main  sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities  advanced further on Monday lead by higher rates for cape, panamax and supeamax  vessels.

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, rose further by 4  points to 295 on Monday.

However, the dry bulk market is expected to  remain under pressure for longer because of weak demand for commodities,  particularly from top global importer China.

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  Wednesday, February 10 2016, when the index plummeted to 290 points.