Baltic Index Posts Weekly Gain As All Ship Segments Rise Simultaneously

The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk maritime freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Friday and posted a weekly gain, lifted by broad-based gains across all ship classes.

The main index, which takes into account capesize, panamax and supramax cruise ship rates, rose 23 points, or 1.2%, to 2,069 points. The index posted a weekly gain of 6.9%.

The US and China have imposed new port fees on each other’s ships, disrupting trade routes and increasing freight costs, and making the high seas a key battleground in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

“China’s new measures, mirroring similar actions in the US, will increase gradually over the next few years, increasing uncertainty in the global shipping market,” Nikos Tagoulis, senior analyst at Intermodal said in a note earlier this week.

The capesize index rose 63 points, or 2.1%, to 3,121 points, and was up 11.5% for the week.

Average daily earnings for large vessels, which typically carry 150,000 tonnes of cargo such as iron ore and coal, increased by $524 to $25,882.

However, iron ore futures are headed for a weekly decline, with concerns around the demand outlook due to US-China trade tensions coinciding with the prospect of increased ore supplies for the rest of the year.

The Panamax index rose one point to 1,827 points and experienced a weekly increase of 3.6%. The index is also at its highest level since September 26.

Average daily earnings for Panamax vessels, which typically carry 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain, rose by $13 to $16,446.

Among small vessels, the supramax index rose two points to 1,424, its highest since Oct. 7, and posted a weekly gain of 1.6%.
Source: Reuters