Higher Vessel Rates Lift Baltic Dry Index

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index gained to its highest in nearly three weeks on Monday, helped by an uptick in capesize and panamax vessel rates.

The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, added 18 points, or 0.7%, to 2,596, a peak since June 1.

The capesize index gained 44 points, or 1.47%, to 3,031, the highest since May 26.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose by $362 to $25,138.

Global port congestion is set to continue until at least early 2023 and keep spot freight rates elevated, logistics executives said last week, urging charterers to switch to long-term contracts to manage shipping costs.

Meanwhile, Dalian iron ore futures slumped by their 11% limit on Monday, while those in Singapore dropped as much as 8%, as fears grew about a collapse of steel consumption in top user China.

The panamax index added 10 points, or 0.4%, to 2,872 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000-70,000 tonnes, increased by $89 to $25,846.

The supramax index edged up 3 points to 2,470.

(Reuters - Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans)