Baltic Index Perks up on Increased Rates for Bigger Vessels
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, edged higher on Thursday as rates for bigger vessels rose.
The overall index, which factors in average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, gained seven points to 593 points.
The capesize index gained 27 points or 5.47 percent to 521 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $169 to $4,656.
The panamax index was up 10 points at 636 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry 60,000 to 70,000-tonne cargoes of coal or grain, were up $79 at$5,076.
The handysize index was down two points at 360 points while the supramax index was up four points at 612 points.
(Reporting by Kevin Jose in Bengaluru, editing by David Evans)
