Baltic Index falls to five-month low as vessel rates decline across the board

LONDON : The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index, which tracks rates for vessels transporting dry bulk commodities, fell to an over five-month low on Tuesday, as rates across all vessel segments declined.

The main index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, lost 90 points, or 4.5%, to 1,889 points, its lowest since July 15.

The capesize index fell 222 points, or about 6.2%, to 3,337 points, its lowest in over a month.

Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $1,842 to $27,676.

Iron ore futures prices closed lower on Tuesday, weighed by steel mills undergoing annual furnace maintenance and rising Chinese port inventories.

The panamax index fell to an over 6-month low, losing 16 points, or 1.3%, to 1,266 points, its lowest level since June 9.

Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carry 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, decreased by $149 to $11,391.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index lost 31 points to 1,162 points.
Source: Reuters