Baltic Dry Index hits over 5-Month High

LONDON: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk freight index, which monitors rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, edged higher on Thursday to a more than five-month high, rose about 0.2% to its highest since December 5 at 3,195 points.

The Capesize index lost 24 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5,316.

Average daily earnings for Capesize vessels fell $224 to $44,706.

Dalian iron ore futures closed flat on Thursday after a two-session slide, as traders weighed weak demand for Chinese steel products against an expected rise in hot metal output next week.

The Panamax index rose 49 points, or two per cent, to 2,503.

Average daily earnings for Panamax vessels gained $445 to $22,528.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index added five points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,558.

Source: Reuters