Baltic Dry Index climbs further to 1099 points

UNITED KINGDOM March 14 2017 2:16 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities climbed further to 1099 points on Monday led by higher cape, panamax and supramax indices.

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 another 13 points to 1099 points on Monday.

The BDI typically peaks in either late winter or spring, depending on other macroeconomic factors. Right now, the expectation is that the BDI could surpass its November peak as Chinese demand for raw materials increases as the country moves ahead with its final push of infrastructure development that was planned as a part of its recent fiscal stimulus.