UNITED KINGDOM April 19 2017 2:27 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities dipped to 1294 points on Tuesday mainly on lower cape rate.

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 2 points to 1294 points on Tuesday.

China’s economic growth is crucial to the BDI. The country is a major consumer of raw materials and because domestic demand exceeds supply for many raw materials, imports are required to make up the difference.