The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Thursday on higher demand across all vessel segments.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was up 20 points, or 3.13 percent, at 660 points.
The capesize index rose 41 points, or 4.29 percent, to 996 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $326 at $7,110.
The panamax index was up 28 points, or 4.42 percent, at 662 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, increased $227 to $5,296.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose 13 points to 619 points, while the handysize index rose 4 points to 342 points.
(Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru)