Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange gains further to 1231 points

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities gained further to 1231 points on Monday driven by higher panamax 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, gained by another 08 points to 1231 points on Monday, its second-straight session of gains after the index saw six consecutive losses.
The supply disruption in Australia is exerting pressure. A large cyclone hit Australia a few weeks ago, disrupting shipments from ports. According to Freight Investors Services, freight rates for large capesize dry cargo vessels on key Asian routes fell to multi-week lows last week, and are likely to remain depressed due to lower cargoes.