The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Wednesday as the capesize vessel segment climbed.
* The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, added 34 points to 1,755.
* The capesize index jumped 128 points to 2,883 points.
* Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased 1,062 to 23,908.
* The panamax index .BPNI slipped 31 points to 1,350 points.
* Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carry about 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain cargo, decreased $278 to $12,154.
* Meanwhile, prices of iron ore futures pulled back from nearly three-week highs as investors turned cautious ahead of this week’s data that could help gauge whether steel demand in top consumer China has shown signs of recovery.
* Among smaller vessels, the supramax index was down 1 point at 1,316 points.
Source: Reuters