Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange rises above 950 points

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities rose above 950 points on Monday mainly due to higher cape index.
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 sharply by 33 points to 961 points on Monday
There is cautious optimism heading into 2017 with the BDI’s price up significantly from a year ago due to increased demand to transport goods. 
Through the first part of 2017, the BDI should remain supported by China’s continued infrastructure development, which will increase demand to ship raw materials. There is also some optimism over economic growth in other regions of the country.