Baltic Dry Index Rises on Gains Across Vessel Segments

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, extended gains on Wednesday, helped by an uptick across all vessel segments led by a jump in the larger capesize segment.

The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels, was up 187 points, or about 13.3%, its largest gain in over seven months, at 1,595.

The capesize index gained 486 points, or about 45%, to hit its highest in over a month at 1,565.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as coal and steel-making ingredient iron-ore used in construction, rose by $4,025 to $12,977.

The panamax index was up 71 points, or about 3.4%, at 2,145, hitting its highest in over two months.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, gained $643 at $19,309.

The supramax index rose for second consecutive session after snapping 12-day falling streak, gaining 21 points to 1,505.

Meanwhile, "limited mineral trade remains the weak spot in dry bulk market activity," ship broker Intermodal said in a weekly note dated Tuesday.

(Reuters - Reporting by Harshit Verma; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)