Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange falls after rallying over 800 points

UNITED KINGDOM September 14 2016 2:33 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities dropped after rallying to 11-month high of 804 points on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s fall marked the end of a rally that saw the Baltic Dry Index appreciate by 12% week-over-week to touch its highest price point since October 2015.

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 4 points to 796 points on Tuesday.

The BDI’s recent rally came as the end of the Labor Day weekend signaled the kick-off the restocking period ahead of winter. A great deal of the support has come from capesize ships, with capesize time charter equivalent rising above $8,000 per day, above cash operating costs. But, not all ships are seeing an increase in rates.