Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange plummets to 652 points

UNITED STATES May 05 2016 2:04 PM 

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities plummeted to 652 points on Wednesday mainly due to weaker demand for capesizes and smaller shipping 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, down by 30 point to 652 points on Wednesday.

Back in February, the Baltic Dry Index fell to a record low of 209 points, as global economic woes and a glut of ships pressured the market. 

Since the BDI has staged a significant recovery. Factors that have been driving the gains include the belief that the sell-off was overdone, an increase in demand, and a decrease in ship supply due to some ship scrapping.