Mon Jul 23, 2012
July 23 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Monday, primarily hurt by lower panamax vessel rates.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, fell 15 points or 1.45 percent to 1,022 points.
The Baltic's panamax index dipped 22 points or 1.9 percent to 1,134 points.
Earnings for panamaxes, which usually transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, have fallen about 31 percent so far this year.
The Baltic's capesize index slipped 1 point to 1,275 points. Capesizes typically transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.
Steel demand in the world's largest steel consumer looks unlikely to pick up in the near term, so China's biggest steel mills have cut their prices for August to scramble for low orders, which may push down prices further.
Shipments of iron ore, used to make steel, account for about a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a key factor for dry freight.
Average daily earnings for handysize ships were down $141 to $9,378, while those for supramax ships were down $191 to $12,268.
Growing ship supply has been outpacing commodity demand for some time and is widely expected to weigh on dry bulk freight rates in the coming months.
The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, has fallen about 41 percent this year.
(Reporting by Koustav Samanta in Bangalore, editing by William Hardy)
July 23 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Monday, primarily hurt by lower panamax vessel rates.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, fell 15 points or 1.45 percent to 1,022 points.
The Baltic's panamax index dipped 22 points or 1.9 percent to 1,134 points.
Earnings for panamaxes, which usually transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, have fallen about 31 percent so far this year.
The Baltic's capesize index slipped 1 point to 1,275 points. Capesizes typically transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.
Steel demand in the world's largest steel consumer looks unlikely to pick up in the near term, so China's biggest steel mills have cut their prices for August to scramble for low orders, which may push down prices further.
Shipments of iron ore, used to make steel, account for about a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a key factor for dry freight.
Average daily earnings for handysize ships were down $141 to $9,378, while those for supramax ships were down $191 to $12,268.
Growing ship supply has been outpacing commodity demand for some time and is widely expected to weigh on dry bulk freight rates in the coming months.
The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, has fallen about 41 percent this year.
(Reporting by Koustav Samanta in Bangalore, editing by William Hardy)
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