The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, fell on Monday, on lower rates for capesize vessels.
The Baltic index fell 13 points, or 0.9%, to 1,402.
The capesize index fell 54 points, or 2.4%, to 2,207.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, slipped $445 to $18,304.
Iron ore futures hit a four-week low on Monday, as China’s portside inventory piled up to its highest since February and worries about future demand for the raw material in the world’s top steel producer weighed on sentiment.
The panamax index gained 17 points, or 1.3%, to 1,291.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, rose $154 to $11,623.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index was unchanged at 972.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Asha Sistla in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
