The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, snapped a seven-session losing streak on Friday, supported by gains in larger vessels.
The index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, gained 7 points to 1,167 points, but the index was down over 13% for the week.
The capesize index edged up 5 points to 1,535 points. The contract posted about 28% decline for the week.
Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, increased by $37 to $12,727.
Iron ore futures prices slid and headed for a weekly loss on Friday, as the wave of restocking for seaborne cargoes from steelmakers in top consumer China receded and high portside stocks as well as falling steel margins weighed.
The panamax index rose 27 points to 1,067 points, recording a weekly gain of 4.8%.
Average daily earnings for panamax vessels, which usually carry 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain cargo, rose $242 to $9,606.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index edged down 5 points to 974 points.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
