Fri Jul 27, 2012
July 27 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, fell on Friday as the market continued to struggle with slower cargo trade and mounting fleet growth.
The overall index fell 2.61 percent or 25 points to 933 points. The index fell for the fourteenth straight day and has declined over 10 percent this week.
The Baltic's panamax index fell 2.55 percent to 1,031 points due to muted demand in both the Atlantic and Pacific basins.
"The tone in the Pacific remains soft and rates continue to slip little by little," the exchange said in a note clients.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually transport 60,000-70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, reached $8,225, lows not seen since early July.
"Atlantic rates have come under very heavy pressure over the past seven days, with little expectation that the market will stabilize any time soon," broker firm Braemar Seascope said in a note.
"An increasing number of charterers are pushing for ideas on APS basis prior to discussions and owners who have been holding out are starting to consider front-haul business as well in search of better rates," Braemar said.
The Baltic's capesize index fell 1.23 percent with average daily earnings falling to $4,740. Capesizes typically haul 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.
"Capesize rates have dropped significantly this week, with little light at the end of the tunnel for the immediate future," Braemar said.
Analysts said the falling price of iron ore in recent days seems to be the only hope for improvement in capesize rates in the fourth quarter of the year.
Iron ore prices hit their lowest level in more than two and a half years on Friday as China's slowing economy reduced global demand growth.
Shipments of iron ore account for about a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a key factor for dry freight.
Rates for supramax vessels were down $314 at $11,177 and those for handysizes were down $208 to $8,735.
Growing ship supply, which is outpacing commodity demand, is set to cap dry bulk freight rate gains in the coming months, with economic uncertainty and a slowdown in China adding to headwinds.
The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, has fallen more than 46 percent this year.
(Reporting by Soma Das in Bangalore; editing by Keiron Henderson)
July 27 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, fell on Friday as the market continued to struggle with slower cargo trade and mounting fleet growth.
The overall index fell 2.61 percent or 25 points to 933 points. The index fell for the fourteenth straight day and has declined over 10 percent this week.
The Baltic's panamax index fell 2.55 percent to 1,031 points due to muted demand in both the Atlantic and Pacific basins.
"The tone in the Pacific remains soft and rates continue to slip little by little," the exchange said in a note clients.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually transport 60,000-70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, reached $8,225, lows not seen since early July.
"Atlantic rates have come under very heavy pressure over the past seven days, with little expectation that the market will stabilize any time soon," broker firm Braemar Seascope said in a note.
"An increasing number of charterers are pushing for ideas on APS basis prior to discussions and owners who have been holding out are starting to consider front-haul business as well in search of better rates," Braemar said.
The Baltic's capesize index fell 1.23 percent with average daily earnings falling to $4,740. Capesizes typically haul 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.
"Capesize rates have dropped significantly this week, with little light at the end of the tunnel for the immediate future," Braemar said.
Analysts said the falling price of iron ore in recent days seems to be the only hope for improvement in capesize rates in the fourth quarter of the year.
Iron ore prices hit their lowest level in more than two and a half years on Friday as China's slowing economy reduced global demand growth.
Shipments of iron ore account for about a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a key factor for dry freight.
Rates for supramax vessels were down $314 at $11,177 and those for handysizes were down $208 to $8,735.
Growing ship supply, which is outpacing commodity demand, is set to cap dry bulk freight rate gains in the coming months, with economic uncertainty and a slowdown in China adding to headwinds.
The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, has fallen more than 46 percent this year.
(Reporting by Soma Das in Bangalore; editing by Keiron Henderson)
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