The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index, which monitors rates for vessels moving dry bulk commodities, ticked up on Tuesday, supported by gains in capesize and panamax vessel rates.
The main index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, rose 23 points, or 1.1%, at 2,094 points.
The capesize index rose 56 points, or 1.8%, to 3,184 points, its highest since October 13.
Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased by $460 to $26,404.
Iron ore futures prices traded largely within a tight range on Tuesday, as investors shifted focus to a meeting of China’s top leadership that will chart the economic policy of the world’s second-largest economy for the next five years.
The panamax index gained 29 points, or 1.6%, to 1,858 points.
Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carry 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain, rose by $258 to $16,718.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index fell eight points to 1,414 points.
Source: Reuters