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The Baltic Exchange’s most important sea freight index, which shows the prices for ships with bulk goods, slipped on Friday and recorded five consecutive weekly gains due to the decline in ship demand.
The main index, which takes into account the rates for Capesize, Panamax and Supramax ships, fell by 34 points, or 1.1%, to 3,039. The index was down 7.9% this week, the largest drop since the week ending May 28.
The Capesize Index fell 18 points, or 0.5%, to 3,442, its lowest level since July 6th. The index posted a weekly decline of 7.8%.
Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically haul 150,000 tons of iron ore, has been reduced by $ 152 to $ 28,542.
Chinese stainless steel futures rose on heavy consumption and scarce raw material supplies, while concerns about production cuts in the steel sector also supported prices.
The Panamax index fell 73 points, or nearly 2%, to 3,635. The index was down 11.4% on the week, the largest drop since the week ending April 9th.
Average daily earnings for Panamax, which typically haul coal or grain loads of around 60,000 tons to 70,000 tons, fell by $ 651 to $ 32,719.
The Supramax index fell 24 points to 2,775 and ended the week 4% lower.
Source: Reuters (reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; editing by Aditya Soni)
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