UNITED KINGDOM July 05 2017 1:16 PM
LONDON (Scrap Register): The main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange for ships carrying dry bulk commodities fell further to 871 points on Tuesday as a decline in 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, down by another 11 points to 871 points on Tuesday.

The BDI reached its 2017 peak of above 1300 points in early March and then staged pretty consistent losses, bottoming out at 818 in early June. 

Losses over the spring are typical for the BDI, as summer approaches and raw material demand decreases. This recent leg higher is surprising, but welcome given that the BDI remains relatively low, leaving many shipping companies in loss-making territory.