AsiaDry CargoEurope

Baltic Dry Index dips below 600 points again

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) has fallen 22 points to reach 594 today, the sharpest drop seen since mid-November 2015.

The capesize market was the biggest contributor to the BDI’s sharp contraction, thanks to muted chartering activity on major routes and lower rates.

The Baltic Capesize Index (BCI) reached 752 points today, 85 points lower than Monday and some 408 points lower than its six-month high of 1,160, seen on April 27.

Likewise, the BCI’s weighted timecharter average (TCA) rate fell $667 from Monday’s level to $5,946 per day. Like the BCI, the TCA rate reached a six-month peak on April 27 of $9,170 per day.

Spot rates today fell on all capesize benchmark routes, particularly for voyages from Brazil to China and to the Continent.

The Baltic indices for handysizes, panamaxes and supramaxes declined too, but all by less than 10 points.

In the period market, KC Maritime’s panamax Darya Uma (76,520 dwt, built 2005) was reported fixed for four to seven months to an unnamed charterer at $5,400 daily, a slight discount on six-month fixtures seen previously. The vessel will deliver in Qingdao, China between May 15-17, according to Baltic Exchange data.

Holly Birkett

Holly is Splash's Online Editor and correspondent for the UK and Mediterranean. She has been a maritime journalist since 2010, and has written for and edited several trade publications. She is currently studying for membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. In 2013, Holly won the Seahorse Club's Social Media Journalist of the Year award. She is currently based in London.

Comments

  1. No one should be surprised. It was obvious from the beginning of the recent upward trend of freights, that it would be a temporary one . The viable recovery of the dry bulk market is still far away.

Back to top button