The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index declined on Tuesday as capesize rates hit a near six-month low, offsetting a rise in panamax vessel rates.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was down by 20 points, or 1.8%, at 1,063, registering its worst performance in more than a month.
The capesize index shed 75 points, or about 7.0%, to 997.
Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transports 150,000-tonne cargoes carrying commodities such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $621 to $8,266.
“The bearish mode in the bigger size segment dominated the overall trend, pushing the index marginally lower,” shipbroker Allied said in a weekly note, referring to the capesize segment.
Dalian iron ore dipped while the Singapore benchmark trimmed gains, as traders weighed China’s measures to revive its struggling property sector against the impact of likely steel output controls on demand for the steelmaking ingredient.
The panamax index edged up by 3 points to 1,481.
Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carries coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, increased by $21 to $13,326.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose 13 points, or 1.3%, to 1,008.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
