The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Thursday as the capesize segment extended its losing streak to a seventh straight session.
The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down 76 points, or 4.6%, at 1,561 points, following the biggest percentage drop in over two months in the previous session.
The capesize index lost 189 points, or 6.7%, at 2,621 points.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $1,568 at $21,737.
Iron ore futures extended losses as China’s rising port inventories and softening physical demand for steel products weighed on sentiment.
The panamax index was down 48 points, or 3.4%, at 1,365 points.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, fell $427 to $12,286.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index fell three points to 977 points, while the handysize index was flat at 599 points.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)