Higher cape, panamax rates lift main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange

UNITED KINGDOM February 18 2016 2:20 PM     

LONDON(Scrap Register): The main  sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities  continued to advance on Wednesday 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 6 points to 307 on Wednesday.

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.