Tue Aug 28, 2012
By Nallur Sethuraman
Aug 28 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, rose for a fifth straight day on Tuesday on an increase in Atlantic activity.
The overall index, which reflects daily freight market prices for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, gained 7 points or 0.98 percent to 724 points.
The capesize index was up 5.16 percent at 1,182 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which usually transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $348 at $3,275.
There were increased enquiries for iron ore and coal with a splurge in Atlantic activity for the big capesize vessels, said George Lazaridis, head of research with Greek shipbroker, Intermodal.
Shanghai steel futures fell nearly 2 percent to a record low on Tuesday, dropping for a 12th consecutive day, with no sign steel demand in China will recover anytime soon.
There are considerable iron ore stockpiles in China, however, the drop in prices might lead to speculative trading, which in turn would bring down average price fixing of the commodity, Lazaridis said.
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.
Rates for The Baltic Exchange's panamax index fell 1.93 percent to 812 points, with average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000-70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, down $126 at $6,460.
There was a considerable increase in freight rates last week due to sentiments on improved conditions, said Lazaridis.
"A lot of people acted in haze expecting things to get better. But, this week the panamaxes got into a bit of trouble again."
Average daily earnings for handysize ships were down $26 at $6,832, while that of supramax ships were up $42 at $8,960.
(Reporting by NR Sethuraman in Bangalore; editing by Keiron Henderson)
By Nallur Sethuraman
Aug 28 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, rose for a fifth straight day on Tuesday on an increase in Atlantic activity.
The overall index, which reflects daily freight market prices for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, gained 7 points or 0.98 percent to 724 points.
The capesize index was up 5.16 percent at 1,182 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which usually transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $348 at $3,275.
There were increased enquiries for iron ore and coal with a splurge in Atlantic activity for the big capesize vessels, said George Lazaridis, head of research with Greek shipbroker, Intermodal.
Shanghai steel futures fell nearly 2 percent to a record low on Tuesday, dropping for a 12th consecutive day, with no sign steel demand in China will recover anytime soon.
There are considerable iron ore stockpiles in China, however, the drop in prices might lead to speculative trading, which in turn would bring down average price fixing of the commodity, Lazaridis said.
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.
Rates for The Baltic Exchange's panamax index fell 1.93 percent to 812 points, with average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000-70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, down $126 at $6,460.
There was a considerable increase in freight rates last week due to sentiments on improved conditions, said Lazaridis.
"A lot of people acted in haze expecting things to get better. But, this week the panamaxes got into a bit of trouble again."
Average daily earnings for handysize ships were down $26 at $6,832, while that of supramax ships were up $42 at $8,960.
(Reporting by NR Sethuraman in Bangalore; editing by Keiron Henderson)
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