Baltic Index up for Third Straight Session

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Friday, for a third straight session, on rising demand across all vessel segments.

The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was up 13 points, or 2.18 percent, at 609 points.

The capesize index gained 16 points, or 1.78 percent, to 913 points.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $199 at $6,452.

The panamax index was up 16 points, or 2.81 percent, at 585 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, increased $127 to $4,681.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose 6 points to 583 points, while the handysize index rose 7 points to 329 points.

Reporting by Nithin Prasad