The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for the third straight session on Thursday, supported by strong demand across vessel segments.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, rose 43 points, or 3.3 percent, to 1,339 points.
The capesize index rose 8.1 percent, or 155 points, to 2,080 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000 tonne-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased by $1,050 to $16,391.
The panamax index gained a point to 1,473 points. Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, inched up by $6 to $11,777.
The supramax index edged up 1 point to 951 points.
Reporting by K. Sathya Narayanan