Mon Aug 6, 2012
Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Monday as rates for smaller panamax vessels remained pressured due to low activity.
The overall index, a gauge of the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell 1.06 percent to 843 points. The index has fallen for 20 consecutive sessions.
The panamax index fell 2.20 percent to 890 points, with average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000-70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, down $162 at $7,096.
"The Panamax market remains flat, sick, & nearly dead with no inquiry to report. Fixtures have remained behind the scenes and rates continue their weak trend," Mcquilling Partners said in its market commentary.
The segment has been suffering from a low demand for coal and a drain in grain cargoes from the east coast of South America, analysts said.
Draught conditions in the United States are causing further concerns about the country's grain harvest.
The capesize index was up 1.17 percent at 1,214 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which usually transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $71 at $4,417.
"The Chinese steel market has, despite dropping prices and weak demand, kept production at high levels," Arctic Securities said in a note on Monday.
More liquidity may boost demand for steel, but the underlying situation for dry bulk remained weak as iron ore stocks were still high and coal demand has been weak, it added.
Iron ore shipments account for around a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a key factor for dry freight.
(Reporting by NR Sethuraman in Bangalore, editing by William Hardy)
Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Monday as rates for smaller panamax vessels remained pressured due to low activity.
The overall index, a gauge of the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell 1.06 percent to 843 points. The index has fallen for 20 consecutive sessions.
The panamax index fell 2.20 percent to 890 points, with average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000-70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, down $162 at $7,096.
"The Panamax market remains flat, sick, & nearly dead with no inquiry to report. Fixtures have remained behind the scenes and rates continue their weak trend," Mcquilling Partners said in its market commentary.
The segment has been suffering from a low demand for coal and a drain in grain cargoes from the east coast of South America, analysts said.
Draught conditions in the United States are causing further concerns about the country's grain harvest.
The capesize index was up 1.17 percent at 1,214 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which usually transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $71 at $4,417.
"The Chinese steel market has, despite dropping prices and weak demand, kept production at high levels," Arctic Securities said in a note on Monday.
More liquidity may boost demand for steel, but the underlying situation for dry bulk remained weak as iron ore stocks were still high and coal demand has been weak, it added.
Iron ore shipments account for around a third of seaborne volumes on the larger capesizes, and brokers said price developments remained a key factor for dry freight.
(Reporting by NR Sethuraman in Bangalore, editing by William Hardy)
No comments:
Post a Comment