Baltic Index Slips on Weak Capesize Rates

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Tuesday for the fifth straight session, hurt by lower capesize ship rates.

The overall index, which considers rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, slipped 1 point, or 0.12 percent, to 847 points.

The capesize index shed 59 points, or 5.05 percent, to end at 1,110 points, its lowest level since March 2.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell $444 to $8,354.

The panamax index gained 33 points, or 3.35 percent, to 1,017 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, increased $265 to $8,151.

Among indexes for smaller vessels, the supramax index rose 9 points to 717 points, while the handysize index climbed 4 points to 441 points.

(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru)