Baltic Index Posts Best Day in Three Weeks

Posted by Eric Haun September 5, 2017

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates of ships carrying dry bulk commodities, posted its best day in nearly three weeks on Tuesday, helped by higher rates for all vessel types.

The index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, ended up 28 points at 1,215. The 2.36 percent rise was its biggest one-day gain since Aug. 17.

The capesize index gained 70 points, or 3.12 percent, to 2,313 points.

Average daily earnings increased $548 to $17,367 for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.

The panamax index closed up 48 points at 1,275. The 3.91 percent gain was its biggest since mid-July.

Average daily earnings increased $380 to $10,230 for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes.

Among indexes tracking rates for smaller vessels, the supramax index rose three points to 863 points, and the handysize index rose four points to 491 points.

(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)