The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose for a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday, reaching nearly a one-month high, driven by strong gains in capesize and panamax vessel rates.
The index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, gained 76 points to 1,634 points. The contract hit its highest since Oct. 16.
The capesize index rose 236 points to 2,753 points.
Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased by $1,963 to $22,835.
* Iron ore futures were mixed as investors assessed soft economic data out of top consumer China, after the country’s latest stimulus measures underwhelmed and took the wind out of markets in the previous session.
The panamax index rose 12 points to 1,194 points.
Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carry 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain cargo, gained by $107 to $10,746.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index lost 13 points to 1,051 points.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
