The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for the second straight day on Tuesday, supported by higher demand for capesize vessels.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was up 19 points, or 2.01 percent, at 965 points.
The capesize index gained 106 points, or 8.65 percent, to 1,331 points.
Capesize rates are on the rise with average earnings increasing up to about $10,500/day as the market continues to gain some traction in the Pacific as well as the North Atlantic regions, Clarksons Platou Securities analysts said in a note.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $765 to $10,540.
The panamax index rose 3 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,098 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tons to 70,000 tons, increased $28 to $8,793.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index was down 4 points to 779 points and the handysize index also fell 4 points to 492 points.
(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru)