Baltic Index Edges Up to One-month High

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, crept higher on Wednesday to hit a one-month high, supported by stronger demand for smaller vessels.

 

The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was up 4 points, or 0.34 percent, at 1,192 points, a peak since Jan. 29.

 

It gained about 3.5 percent in February and notched the first gain in three months.

 

The index will be re-weighted from Thursday and will no longer include the handysize time charter average.

 

The supramax index rose 25 points to 973 points, while the handysize index rose 12 points to 557 points.

 

The capesize index shed 35 points, or 2.19 percent, to 1,560 points.

 

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $280 to $12,347.

 

The panamax index was flat, at 1,513 points.

 

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, rose $3 to $12,138.


(Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)