Aug 3 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index climbed on Monday, as demand for capesize and panamax vessels rose.
* The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, was up 35 points, or 2.6%, at 1,385.
* The Baltic capesize index rose 91 points, or 4.1%, to 2,297.
* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport cargoes of 170,000 tonnes to 180,000 tonnes, including iron ore and coal, were up $755 at $19,051.
* Futures of steelmaking ingredients in China rose on Monday, with iron ore posting its biggest one-day gain in eight weeks and coke scaling a 12-month high on strong demand, as the world’s top steel producer continues to ramp up output.
* The panamax index was up 27 points, or 2.2%, at 1,254.
* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, rose $242 to $11,287.
* However, the supramax index dipped 8 points to 862. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
