Baltic index down for fourth straight session on lower capesize rates

November 21, 2019

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, extended losses to a fourth straight session on Tuesday on tepid demand for capesize vessels.

* The Baltic index, which reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, fell 34 points, or 2.5%, to 1,304, its lowest since June 25.

* The capesize index dropped 60 points, or 2.3%, to 2,543 points.

* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $816 to $19,814.

* China has started an investigation into the production capacity of its steel mills on increasing worries about the rapid output growth this year, a circular showed, putting mild pressure on Chinese iron ore futures earlier on Tuesday.

* The panamax index rose 4 points to 1,116 points, snapping a 25-session long losing streak — its biggest in more than 9 months.

* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, increased by $38 to $8,962.

* The supramax index shed 7 points to 716. (Reporting by Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru)

Source: Reuters