Feb 26 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose for a ninth straight session on Wednesday, as strong demand for panamax and supramax vessels more than offset waning capesize demand.
* The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels that ferry dry bulk commodities, rose 9 points, or 1.8%, to 517 points
* The capesize index fell 12 points to -290
* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes including iron ore and coal, declined by $117 to $2,358.
* “Seasonality, higher fuel costs, and coronavirus disruption behind poor start to new decade for dry bulk earnings,” BIMCO Chief Shipping Analyst Peter Sand said in a note.
* “The fundamental balance will continue to deteriorate in 2020, offering little support to operators hoping to pass on higher fuels costs, caused by the sulphur cap, to shippers.”
* The panamax index gained 29 points, or 3.5%, to 859 points and posted its 15th straight session of gains
* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000-70,000 tonnes, increased by $266 to $7,733
* The supramax index climbed 16 points to 577 (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
