Baltic Index Rises for Seventh Straight Session
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for the seventh straight session on Monday, supported by improved activity across vessel segments headed by the capesizes.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, rose 21 points or 4.67 percent to 471 points.
The capesize index jumped 79 points, or 22.9 percent, to 424 points. The index has gained by over 160 percent, since touching its all-time low of 161 points on March 7.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $499 to $3,512 on Monday.
The panamax index was up 28 points, or 5.23 percent at 563 points, its highest level so far this year.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, rose $222 to $4,497.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose three point to 479 points, while the handysize index was up two points to 274 points.
(Reporting by Nithin Prasad in Bengaluru)
