Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange shoots up further to 643 points

UNITED KINGDOM May 18 2016 3:45 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities shot up further to 643 points level on Tuesday due to stronger rates for capesize 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, advanced further by 30 points to 643 points 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 February 10 2016, when the index plummeted to 290 points.