Baltic Index Continues Fall to New Record Low
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying industrial commodities, continued its fall to close at a fresh record low on Friday.
The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, dipped eight points or 2.46 percent to 317 points.
A slowdown in the Chinese economy, which grew at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century in 2015, and a huge over-capacity in vessels has kept the index exploring new all-time lows for most of 2016. The index has fallen over 10 percent this week.
The capesize index fell five points or 2.31 percent to 211 points.
Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $66 to $2,785.
Freight rates for capesize bulk carriers on key Asian routes are likely to stay flat as vessel volumes outpace cargo demand and the approaching Chinese New Year holiday further dampens chartering activity, ship brokers said on Thursday.
The panamax index dropped six points or 2.05 percent to a new record low of 287 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, fell $49 to $2,299. (Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru
