LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities fell from two-year high on Monday driven by lower cape and panamax rates. 

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 17 points to 1,240 points on Monday.

The Baltic Dry Index has surged on Friday to its highest level in almost two years. The index measures shipping costs for commodities including iron ore, copper and steel. 

It hit a peak level of 11,793 in May 2008 but since hitting a nadir in February it has rallied by 333 percent. The latest surge in the index comes following Donald Trump’s shock victory on November 8. Since then it has soared 50 percent to 1,257 points.