Baltic Index Rises on Stronger Capesize Rates
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose for the second straight session on Friday on higher rates for capesize vessels.
The overall index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose 56 points, or 4.2 percent, to 1,385 points, its biggest one-day percentage rise in over three weeks.
The capesize index rose 145 points, or 7.2 percent, to 2,170 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $1,462 to $18,110. Capesize rates rose on Thursday after eight straight sessions of losses.
The panamax index rose 5 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,336 points. Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, was up $42 at $10,738.
The supramax index was down 13 points at 1,042 points.
Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman
