July 13 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Tuesday pressured by declines across all vessel segments.
* The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, shrunk 72 points, or 2.2%, to 3,228.
* The capesize index led declines, falling 120 points or 3.2% to 3,650, snapping a four-day winning streak.
* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of iron ore, fell by $994 to $30,272.
* Iron ore futures in Asia rose on Tuesday, with the benchmark Dalian contract advancing more than 3%, as lingering concerns about tight supply of the steelmaking raw material eclipsed expectations of a slowdown in China’s steel demand.
* The panamax index dropped for a seventh consecutive session, declining 100 points, or 2.5%, to 3,970, the lowest since June 28.
* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,00 tonnes, reduced by $892 to $35,734.
* The supramax index was down 17 points at 2,865. (Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
