Baltic Index Flat, Rates for Bigger Vessels Rise

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, remained unchanged on Thursday, even as rates for capesize and panamax vessels rose.

The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was flat at 579 points.

The capesize index rose 11 points to 724 points.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $31 to $5,552.

Freight rates for large capesize dry cargo ships on key Asian routes are set to hold around the current levels next week, after having slipped to multi-week lows this week, as higher fuel prices provide support in a lackluster cargo market, ship brokers said on Thursday.

The panamax index rose six points to 589 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, increased $49 to $4,709.

Among smaller vessels, the handysize index slid two points to 347 points and the supramax index was down five points at 555 points.


(Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru)