Thu Oct 4, 2012
Oct 4 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, gained for the fifth straight day on Wednesday, on account of gains in the front-haul market for both capesizes and panamaxes.
"Finally we can see some evidence of change in sentiment (for panamaxes). Atlantic seems to be bottoming out and coming up a small tick," ship broker Fearnleys said in a note.
"In spite of the holidays in China, (capesize) rates are climbing up. The main driver is the front haul market... The sentiment for the short term is bullish," it said.
The main index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities including iron ore, coal and grain, rose 47 points or 6 percent to 845 on Thursday.
The Baltic's capesize index rose 135 points to 1,873. Average daily earnings for the vessels, which usually transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $1,404 or 15 percent to $10,518, the highest since January.
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.
Anticipation that Chinese steel mills will pick up fresh iron ore cargoes to replenish inventories after the Oct. 1-5 National Day break supported capesize rates.
The Baltic's panamax index gained nearly 10 percent to 544 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grain, rose $377 to $4,334.
Average daily earnings for handysize and supramax ships fell to $6,552 and $8,390, respectively.
(Reporting By Shruti Chaturvedi in Bangalore; editing by James Jukwey)
Oct 4 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, gained for the fifth straight day on Wednesday, on account of gains in the front-haul market for both capesizes and panamaxes.
"Finally we can see some evidence of change in sentiment (for panamaxes). Atlantic seems to be bottoming out and coming up a small tick," ship broker Fearnleys said in a note.
"In spite of the holidays in China, (capesize) rates are climbing up. The main driver is the front haul market... The sentiment for the short term is bullish," it said.
The main index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities including iron ore, coal and grain, rose 47 points or 6 percent to 845 on Thursday.
The Baltic's capesize index rose 135 points to 1,873. Average daily earnings for the vessels, which usually transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $1,404 or 15 percent to $10,518, the highest since January.
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.
Anticipation that Chinese steel mills will pick up fresh iron ore cargoes to replenish inventories after the Oct. 1-5 National Day break supported capesize rates.
The Baltic's panamax index gained nearly 10 percent to 544 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grain, rose $377 to $4,334.
Average daily earnings for handysize and supramax ships fell to $6,552 and $8,390, respectively.
(Reporting By Shruti Chaturvedi in Bangalore; editing by James Jukwey)
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