Baltic Index Falls on Sluggish Capesize Demand
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Thursday hurt by an decline capesize vessel demand.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down eight points, or 1.25 percent, at 634 points.
The capesize index lost 48 points, or 5.03 percent, at 906 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $351 to $7,378.
The panamax index was up six points, or 0.98 percent, at 617 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, increased $43 to $4,928.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose five points to 558 points, while the handysize index was flat at 342 points.
(Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru)
