Baltic index steady on firmer rates for bigger vessels
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, rose 1 point on Tuesday amid increased activity in the panamax and capesize segments, Reuters reports.
The main index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities including iron ore, coal and grain, rose 0.12 percent to 778 points.
The Baltic's capesize index rose 16 points to 1,676 points, with average daily earnings for the vessels, which usually transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, up $116 to $8,542.
Iron ore shipments account for around a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a key factor for dry freight.
Spot iron ore prices steadied on Tuesday amid a dearth of bids and offers in both physical and forward swaps markets, silenced by a week-long public holiday in top iron ore importer China.
Prices of the metal are likely to bounce back when the Chinese return next week after the Oct 1-5 National Day break and replenish their stockpiles of the steelmaking raw material.
The Baltic's panamax index gained 24 points to 463.
The average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grain, rose$190 to $3,692.
Average daily earnings for handysize and supramax ships fell to $6,656 and $8,549, respectively.
