Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange rises above 800 points

UNITED KINGDOM September 12 2016 9:40 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities rose above 800 mark on Friday as demand to ship raw materials ahead of winter heats up.

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 12 points to 804 points on Friday.

BDI continued to advance on optimism the end of summer holiday season and new season will boost shipping demand. Harvesting season well underway and customers will stock up raw material ahead of winter before shipping become more difficult. 

Index also supported by optimism after International leaders failed to make pressure on China in G-20 meeting to curb its steel overcapacity.

Going ahead, coal import demand could be robust as China is cutting domestic production. Overall, Chinas imports rose 1.5% in August against forecast of 4.9% drop, recorded their first annual rise since late 2014, which is indicating rising cargo business. 

Index is likely to support by resolve disruptions to container cargo transport caused by world largest shipping companay Hanjin Shipping. Last week, its bankruptcy filing created crisis with many ports. Traders are speculation that demand will pick up in coming days as US Labor Day weekend ended this week.