Baltic Index Slips on Weaker Capesize Sector
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell slightly on Friday, dragged down by lower rates for capesize vessels.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, fell 1 point or 0.08 percent, to 1,183 points.
The capesize index decreased 29 points, or 1.26 percent, to end at 2,264 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell $135 to $16,948.
The panamax index rose 9 points, or 0.76 percent, to 1,198 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, rose $72 to $9,610.
Among indexes tracking rates for smaller vessels, the supramax index rose 3 points to 856 points, while the handysize index was unchanged at 486 points.
Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman
