Baltic Index Posts Weekly Gain

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index gained on Friday, and notched a weekly rise, on stronger rates across all vessel segments.

The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose by 50 points, or 4.3%, at 1,211, its highest since Nov. 30. The index rose 1.2% for the week.

The capesize index gained 114 points, or 8.6%, at 1,434, a one-week high.

But the index fell 5.7% this week, its worst in about a month.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $938 at $11,889.

"The tepid sentiment for capesizes continued this week, primarily due to iron ore supply concerns in relation to rains in Brazil and Vale's revised downward estimates for its yearly production," Athens-based EastGate Shipbrokers said.

Benchmark iron ore futures on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange hit all-time highs on Friday, spurred by supply concerns and booming steel demand in the world's second-largest economy.

Prices of the steelmaking ingredient have risen due to recent hits to expected supply following an Australian parliamentary inquiry into miner Rio Tinto's destruction of an ancient Aboriginal heritage site, Robert Rennie, Global Head of Financial Market Strategy at Westpac Institutional Bank said.

Investors on Thursday backed the findings of a review of Rio Tinto's destruction of ancient Australian rockshelters.

The panamax index rose 38 points, or 2.7%, to 1,465, its highest in over three months. The index gained 10.07% this week, its best week since Nov. 20.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, added $336 at $13,183.

The supramax index gained 8 points at 1,031, its highest since early Nov. 2019.

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)