Baltic Dry Index falls below 500 points again to lowest ever level
Today’s Baltic Dry Index has been assessed at 484 points, dipping below 500 points for the second time ever to reach the lowest level in its history.
The BDI has dipped below the 500 mark only once before, when it dropped to 498 points on November 20 this year.
The index fell 24 points on yesterday, owing to crashing rates in the capesize segment. The Baltic Cape Index similarly declined by 99 points to 623 today.
Capesize TCA spot rates were today assessed at $5,514 per day, having fallen $827 on yesterday due to low chartering activity and persistently poor rates.
Rio Tinto is today reported to have booked three capes in the spot market to carry 170,000-tonne cargoes of iron ore from Dampier to Qingdao for just $3.65/tonne. EdF also fixed a cape for the Western Australia to Qingdao run for just $3.50/tonne for the same cargo volume.
On November 20, 170,000-tonne iron ore cargoes were fixing on the between Port Hedland-Qingdao route for $4.05/tonne.
Last week, the commodity spot price for iron ore fell to $37/tonne, its lowest level since at least 2008, amid shrinking demand from its major consumer China.
Previous to the lows seen in 2015, historical Baltic Exchange data shows the BDI touched a record low of 554 points on four previous occasions on July 31, 1986, and August 4-6, 1986, back when it was known as the Baltic Freight Index.
