Baltic Dry Index advances further on higher cape, panamax, supramax indices

UNITED KINGDOM June 27 2017 1:28 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities advanced further 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, advanced by another 14 points to 884 points on Monday, the highest value since the end of May.

But, over the past month, it has been a wild ride with BDI rates facing pressure as the seasonal low demand period approached. Shipping demand tends to taper during summer in the Northern Hemisphere when there is less demand for many raw materials; particularly those used in building and construction as hot temperatures slow construction activity.