Baltic Index Rises on Higher Demand Across Vessels

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Wednesday on stronger demand across all types of vessels.

The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax, and handysize shipping vessels, was up five points, or 0.86 percent, at 585 points.

The capesize index gained five points, or 0.57 percent, at 878 points.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $1 to $6,107.

The panamax index was up eight points, or 1.46 percent, at 556 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, increased $68 to $4,447.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose seven points to 570 points, while the handysize index rose three points to 318 points.

Reporting by Harshith Aranya