The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, on Monday recorded its biggest daily percentage jump in more than four-and-a-half months, buoyed by a surge in capesize rates.
The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, climbed 67 points, or 5.2%, to 1,351 points. The index posted its biggest daily percentage gain since July 4.
The capesize index rose 223 points, or nearly 9%, to 2,716, also registering its biggest percentage rise since July 4. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $1,585 to $20,515.
The supramax index rose 20 points to 767.
The panamax index inched lower by 10 points, or 0.9%, to 1,119 points. Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, edged $80 lower to $8,988.
Reporting by Nakul Iyer