Baltic Dry Index Jumps to 2023-Highs

The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, surged by 5.5% by 3,331 points on Wednesday, reaching its highest since December 2023. Gains were broad-based, led by the larger vessel segments. The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes including iron ore and coal, jumped 8.1% to its highest since December at 5,642 points, supported by strong Atlantic and Pacific activity, despite weaker iron ore futures. At the same time, the panamax index, which tracks vessels carrying around 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, rose 2.9% to a more than three-week high of 2,429 points, marking the eighth session of gains. Among smaller vessels, the supramax increased further by 0.7% to 1,657 points.

The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell about 0.9% to 3,157 points on Tuesday, halting a streak of seven straight sessions of advances. The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes including iron ore and coal, also snapped a seven-day winning run, dropping by 2.1% to 5,221 points. On the other hand, the panamax index, which tracks vessels carrying around 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, rose 1.9% to 2,360 points, marking the seventh session of gains; and the supramax index went up 0.2% to 1,650 points.

The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk freight index rose 2.5% to 3,186 on Friday, extending its winning streak to seven sessions and reaching its highest level since June 2. The index measures freight rates for vessels carrying dry bulk commodities across the Capesize, Panamax and Supramax segments. Gains were broad-based, led by the bigger size segment. The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes including iron ore and coal, advanced for a seventh day, climbing 3.9% to its highest since June 2 at 5,336 points. At the same time, the panamax index, which tracks vessels carrying around 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, gained for the sixth session, rising by 1% to a peak since June 2 at 2,315 points; and the supramax index edged up by 0.1% to 1,647 points. The benchmark index rose 12.1% for the week.