UNITED KINGDOM June 13 2017 2:28 PM
LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities continued to gain on Monday thanks to higher cape, 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 21 points to 870 points on Monday.

The BDI’s recent descent came amid the sentiment that China’s economy was slowing down as its stimulus programs wrap up, but even though the country continues to churn out mixed economic data, right now the sentiment is that the slowdown might not be as bad as was recently expected.

While shipping cargoes could thin during the summer, fall demand for grains and certain raw materials that the country will produce less of to combat pollution could bolster seaborne trade. When it comes to the seaborne trade of raw materials, China is the world’s most significant market.