Thu Jul 19, 2012
July 19 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Thursday for the eighth straight day as the market continued to struggle with slower cargo trade and mounting fleet growth.
The overall index, a gauge of the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell 21 points or 1.96 percent to 1,053 points.
The Baltic's panamax index fell 1.91 percent, with average daily earnings for panamaxes down $186 to $9,432.
The Baltic's capesize index dropped 0.78 percent to 1,276 points. Larger capesize vessels typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.
The average daily earnings for the capesize vessels fell $159 to $5,383, amid a sluggish iron ore demand in top consumer China.
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.
Iron ore prices were down 26 percent from a year ago, but traders said buyers are still not biting, convinced prices would fall more with Chinese steel mills likely to curb output further.
The price slide, fueled by a decline in steel prices, prompted Chinese mills to seek delays of shipments from miners and to move contract pricing even closer to daily spot rates.
Average daily earnings for handysize ships were down $89 to $9,635, while those for supramax ships were down $283 to $12,677.
Growing ship supply has been outpacing commodity demand for some time now and is expected to cap dry bulk freight rate gains in the coming months.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, has fallen more than 39 percent this year.
(Reporting by Soma Das in Bangalore, editing by William Hardy)
July 19 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Thursday for the eighth straight day as the market continued to struggle with slower cargo trade and mounting fleet growth.
The overall index, a gauge of the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell 21 points or 1.96 percent to 1,053 points.
The Baltic's panamax index fell 1.91 percent, with average daily earnings for panamaxes down $186 to $9,432.
The Baltic's capesize index dropped 0.78 percent to 1,276 points. Larger capesize vessels typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal.
The average daily earnings for the capesize vessels fell $159 to $5,383, amid a sluggish iron ore demand in top consumer China.
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.
Iron ore prices were down 26 percent from a year ago, but traders said buyers are still not biting, convinced prices would fall more with Chinese steel mills likely to curb output further.
The price slide, fueled by a decline in steel prices, prompted Chinese mills to seek delays of shipments from miners and to move contract pricing even closer to daily spot rates.
Average daily earnings for handysize ships were down $89 to $9,635, while those for supramax ships were down $283 to $12,677.
Growing ship supply has been outpacing commodity demand for some time now and is expected to cap dry bulk freight rate gains in the coming months.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, has fallen more than 39 percent this year.
(Reporting by Soma Das in Bangalore, editing by William Hardy)
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