July 1 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell for a second straight week on Friday, dragged down by declines across all vessel segments.
* The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down 26 points, or nearly 1.2 %, at 2,214 points. The index posted a weekly fall of about 5%.
* The capesize index lost 53 points, or 2.2%, at 2,381 points, down about 0.6% for the week.
* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell $445 to $19,745.
* Meanwhile, iron ore and steel prices tumbled on Friday as prospects of a sharp global economic downturn fanned fears of a slump in demand for commodities.
* The panamax index was down eight points, or 0.32%, at 2,477 points, which took its second straight weekly fall to about 8.1%.
* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, decreased $72 to $22,297.
* The supramax index fell 16 points to 2,290 points, registering a sixth straight weekly fall of 6.5%. (Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
