Stronger Demand Bolsters Baltic Index

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, inched up on Wednesday, helped by stronger demand across all vessel segments.

The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 14 points, or nearly 1%, to 1,440 points, after registering its biggest one-day percentage gain in four-and-a-half months on Tuesday. The capesize index jumped 30 points, or 1%, to 2,983.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $193 to $22,465. The panamax index inched up by 10 points to 1,121.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, rose $79 to $9,002. The supramax index rose 13 points to 796.

Reporting by Anjishnu Mondal