Sluggish Panamax Demand Pulls Baltic Index Down By 1.3%

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  • Baltic index fell 8 points, or 1.3%, to 623 on sluggish panamax demand.
  • The panamax index shed 37 points, or 3.7%, to 970.
  • The capesize index was up 18 points at -293.
  • The supramax index inched 4 points higher to 754.

Weaker panamax vessel rates pushed the Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index to a one-week low on Monday, reports Reuters.

The Baltic index fall

The Baltic index fell 8 points, or 1.3%, to 623, marking its biggest daily fall since Feb. 7 and its lowest level since March 9. Index got hit by weaker rates for panamax vessels, which outweighed an uptick in demand for the capesize and supramax segments.

Panamax

  • The panamax index shed 37 points, or 3.7%, to 970, also posting its worst day in over a month.
  • Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes-70,000 tonnes, declined $329 to $8,732.

Capesize

  • The capesize index was up 18 points at -293.
  • Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000 tonnes-180,000 tonnes cargoes including iron ore and coal, dropped by $2 to $2,795.

The fast-spreading coronavirus and strict containment severely disrupted China’s factory production.

Supramax

  • The supramax index inched 4 points higher to 754.

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Source: Reuters