The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Monday for the sixth straight session, helped by higher rates for larger vessels.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was up 4 points, or 0.39 percent, at 1,036 points.
The capesize index increased 18 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,655 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $176 at $13,139.
The strength in the steel market spilled over to raw material iron ore, with the most-traded iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rising 7.3 percent, the highest since March 21.
Iron ore shipments account for around a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes.
The panamax index was up 5 points, or 0.43 percent, at 1,158 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, increased $36 to $9,273.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index fell 2 points to 762 points, while the handysize index dipped 3 points to 475 points.
(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)