Baltic Index Down on Lower Demand for Larger Vessels
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Wednesday hurt by sluggish demand for large vessel sizes.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down 13 points, or 2.1 percent, at 605 points.
The capesize index lost 49 points, or 5.78 percent, at 799 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $445 to $6,281.
The panamax index was down 12 points, or 1.97 percent, at 596 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, decreased $90 to $4,767.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose three points to 571 points, while the handysize index rose one point to 346 points.
(Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru)
