Reaching new heights

Since the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) dropped in January, the average has been at 576 for the following four months. However, on 24 June, it has seen an increase to 829.

According to data from Commodore Research, the fixtures for Chinese iron ore reached a new high in May. This largely came from China’s main supplier Australia and also was a result of an increased level of shipments to Brazil.

Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO, Peter Sand, said: “We have seen the BDI constantly go higher since end-May. Chinese iron ore fixtures has been on a slow but rising trend throughout the year, so what we are seeing now has been long coming. But this is not all about the demand side, the lift would not have been possible without the support coming from a decreasing capesize fleet size. Since we entered into 2015, the capesize fleet is now short of 22 ships – equal to a drop in capacity of 0.7%.”

Edited from Press Release by Harleigh Hobbs

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