Baltic Dry Index Edges Down, Still Books Weekly Gain

The Baltic Exchange dry bulk freight index declined 1.4% to 2,684 on Monday, reflecting broad weakness across all vessel categories. The capesize index, which typically carries around 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell 1.8% to 4,074. The panamax index, covering vessels that usually transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes of coal or grain, also dropped 1.8% to 2,059. Also, the supramax index slipped 0.2% to 1,715.

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk freight index, which monitors rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, was up for a second session on Friday, rising about 2.4% to its highest since June 12 at 2,722 points, underpinned by the larger vessel segment. The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes including iron ore and coal, climbed by 5.3% to a peak since April 10 at 4,149 points. At the same time, the supramax went up 0.2% to 1,718 points. On the other hand, the panamax index, which tracks vessels carrying around 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, dropped about 2.5% to 2,096 points. For the week, the benchmark index shed approximately 0.3%.

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk freight index, which monitors rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, was down for the third session on Wednesday, falling about 0.6% to its lowest since April 21 at 2,653 points. The decline reflected lower rates across the larger vessel segments. The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes including iron ore and coal, fell about 0.9% to an over two-month low of 3,877 points; and the panamax index, which tracks vessels carrying around 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, decreased 43 points to 2,223 points. On the other hand, the supramax index rose by 1.2% to 1,705 points.