The Baltic exchange’s main sea freight index slipped for a sixth straight session on Wednesday due to a fall in capesize rates.

The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell by 38 points, or 1.5%, to 2,530.

The capesize index dropped 156 points, or 5.2%, to 2,862, dipping for a sixth straight session, and hitting its lowest since April 8.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore, decreased by $1,301 to $23,731.

Prices for steelmaking raw materials on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange jumped to catch up with a strong spot market trend. In the short-term, the market is still trading on hopes of easing production curbs for steel products.

The panamax index rose 54 points, or about 2%, to 2,855, the highest since May 21.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, rose by $481 to $25,693.

The supramax index saw an uptick of 1 point to 2,456.

Source: Reuters

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