Wed Oct 3, 2012
Oct 3 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, rose for the fourth straight day on Wednesday, with gains in rates for capesize and panamax vessels.
The index has been bolstered by firmer activity in the larger capesize market, which has boosted momentum. "Capesize activity remained decent despite Golden Week in China as traders expected steel mills will replenish iron ore inventories when they return from holidays," RS Platou Markets said on Monday.
The main index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities including iron ore, coal and grain, rose 20 points or 2.6 percent to 798 points on Wednesday.
The Baltic's capesize index rose 62 points to 1,738. Average daily earnings for the vessels, which usually transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $572 to $9,114, 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.
Traders expect Chinese steel mills to replenish iron ore inventories after the Oct. 1-5 Golden Week break, with domestic steel prices slowly on the mend, and the country's steel production staying high.
The Baltic's panamax index also gained for the fourth straight day, up 33 points to 496.
The average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grain, rose 7.2 percent or $265 to $3,957.
Average daily earnings for handysize and supramax ships fell to $6,579 and $8,464, respectively.
(Reporting By Shruti Chaturvedi in Bangalore; editing by James Jukwey)
Oct 3 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, rose for the fourth straight day on Wednesday, with gains in rates for capesize and panamax vessels.
The index has been bolstered by firmer activity in the larger capesize market, which has boosted momentum. "Capesize activity remained decent despite Golden Week in China as traders expected steel mills will replenish iron ore inventories when they return from holidays," RS Platou Markets said on Monday.
The main index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities including iron ore, coal and grain, rose 20 points or 2.6 percent to 798 points on Wednesday.
The Baltic's capesize index rose 62 points to 1,738. Average daily earnings for the vessels, which usually transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $572 to $9,114, 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.
Traders expect Chinese steel mills to replenish iron ore inventories after the Oct. 1-5 Golden Week break, with domestic steel prices slowly on the mend, and the country's steel production staying high.
The Baltic's panamax index also gained for the fourth straight day, up 33 points to 496.
The average daily earnings for panamaxes, which typically transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grain, rose 7.2 percent or $265 to $3,957.
Average daily earnings for handysize and supramax ships fell to $6,579 and $8,464, respectively.
(Reporting By Shruti Chaturvedi in Bangalore; editing by James Jukwey)
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