UNITED KINGDOM November 07 2016 3:18 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities closed above 850 points on Friday mainly due to higher cape rate.

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 08 points to 855 points on Friday.

The Baltic Dry Index closed at 855 points on Friday. Baltic Dry Index has seen volatile price swings during the week as hire rates improve for some shipping routes, while some negative sentiment remains as we are almost entering the lull period for the shipping sector. 

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.