Dry Cargo

Busy Vale leads cape charge as BDI breaks through the 2,000 point barrier for the fist time in 66 months

Photo of Sam Chambers Sam ChambersJuly 17, 2019
4 Less than a minute

The Baltic Dry Index broke through the 2,000 barrier yesterday for the first time since January 2014, continuing its impressive climb having hit lows of 596 points in February.

The BDI closed on 2,011 points yesterday, mainly driven by strong demand for capes to shift Vale’s iron ore from Brazil. Vale is busy getting its mines back on track after a dire start to the year with multiple accidents.

Capes are now trading on the spot market for in excess of $30,000 a day, climbing by more than $10,000 in the space of just 10 days. Panamaxes are above $16,000 a day with supramaxes also posting significant gains in recent days.

Photo of Sam Chambers Sam ChambersJuly 17, 2019
4 Less than a minute
Photo of Sam Chambers

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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