Brexit fail to dampen Baltic Dry Index rise

UNITED KINGDOM June 29 2016 2:54 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities advanced for a fifth straight session on Tuesday as strong demand propped up rates for panamax 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, up by another 11 points to 627 points on Tuesday.

While world markets are reeling in the wake the the UK's decision Thursday to leave the EU, dry bulk markets appear to have bucked the trend.

After the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) Wednesday made gains for the first time in 10 sessions, rising 5 points to 585, it has continued to rise though Tuesday despite Thursday's vote for a so-called Brexit.

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.