Baltic Index Rises to Over Five-Year High

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index climbed to its highest since December 2013 on Monday, pushed by higher demand for vessels ferrying iron ore in the Atlantic.

* The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, rose about 1%, or 21 points, to 2,191, a peak since Dec. 20, 2013.

* The index rose for the 10th straight session, mainly spurred by strong demand for vessels that ship iron ore from Brazil into China.

* Port stocks of seaborne iron ore across China stood at 118.35 million tonnes, as of July 19, rebounding from a two-and-a-half-year low of 115.25 million tonnes, as of June 28, data tracked by SteelHome consultancy showed.

* The capesize index gained 59 points, or 1.3%, to 4,438 points, a peak since October 2010.

* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000 tonne-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $198 to $32,963.

* The panamax index rose 31 points, or 1.4%, to 2,201 points, its highest since December 2010.

* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, rose $249 to $17,597.

* The supramax index was 20 points higher at 1,002 points.

(Reuters, Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru)