Baltic Index Records New Low
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying industrial commodities, registered a new all-time low for the ninth straight session on Friday as concerns of slow global demand outweighed gains for the large-vessel segment.
The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, dropped one point to 297 points. The index slid below the 300 mark for the first time on Thursday.
The index is yet to rise in a single session this year, tumbling nearly 40 percent and plumbing fresh lows in 23 of the 25 sessions.
A slowdown in the Chinese economy, which expanded at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century in 2015, and a huge over-capacity in vessels has hit the index hard.
The capesize index gained four points to 212 points.
Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose$81 to $2,824.
The panamax index rose six points at 295 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, rose $47 to $2,361.
The handysize index shed 3 points to 194 points, while the supramax index fell 9 points to 262 points. Both the indexes are at their all-time lows.
(Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru)
