The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Friday and posted its third straight weekly loss, weighed down by weaker rates across vessel types.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, dropped 46 points to 778 points, its lowest level since February 2023. The index was down over 21% for the week.
The capesize index slipped 98 points to 983 points, dropping to its lowest level since March 2023. The index extended losses to a second straight week and was down over 29% for the week. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, lost $811 to $8,156.
Dalian iron ore futures rose on Friday to log a small weekly gain, aided by resilient demand in top consumer China, even as investors fretted over mounting trade tensions between the United States and China.
The panamax index fell 30 points to 774 points, hitting its lowest since May 2020. The index fell for the third straight week and was down 13.7% during the week. Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carry about 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain, decreased by $270 to $6,969.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index was down 15 points at 639 points, its lowest since February 2023. The index was down for the fifteenth straight week and fell 14.5% during the week.
