The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell for a second straight session on Tuesday, pressured by weak demand across all vessel segments.
The index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, dipped 129 points to 1,627 points.
The capesize index fell 354 points to 2,808 points.
Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $2,929 to $23,291.
Iron ore futures rose for a second consecutive session to a one-week high on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar and the start of restocking by Chinese steelmakers to maintain production in January.
The panamax index lost 31 points to 1,171 points.
Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carry 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain cargo, shed $285 to $10,536.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index shed 10 points to 999 points.
Source: Reuters
