Baltic Index Inches 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 Friday on increased rates for bigger vessels.

The overall index, which factors in average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, was up one point at 600 points.

The capesize index inched up a couple of points to 545 points.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $4 to $4,579.

The panamax index was up 5 points, or 0.74 percent, at 685 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry 60,000 to 70,000-tonne cargoes of coal or grain, rose by $37 to $5,455.

The handysize index was down three points at 348 points, while the supramax index was up three points at 624 points.

Reporting by Kevin Jose in Bengaluru