Baltic Dry Index rises above 700 points

UNITED KINGDOM February 17 2017 2:06 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities gained to above 700 points on Thursday led by higher cape and supramax 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, advanced by 22 points to 720 points on Thursday.
The BDI has been pressured in recent weeks as the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday dented short-term demand, while a delay in transporting soft commodities from South America to China meant the BDI did not have an immediate post-Lunar New Year holiday uptick.