Baltic Dry Index up 7.22% at 1783 points

Baltic Dry Index up 7.22% at 1783 points

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index, which tracks rates for vessels transporting dry commodities, advanced for a third session on Monday, climbing 7.2% to its highest since June 18 at 1,783 points, buoyed by gains across all vessels [1].

The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, was also up for a third day, jumping by 12.5% to 2,367 points; and the panamax index, which usually carries 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain, rose 4.8% to its highest since June 18 last year at 1,949 points [2]. Among smaller vessels, the supramax index increased by 2.1% to 1,244 points.

The rise in the index is attributed to strong demand for dry bulk commodities, particularly iron ore, driven by robust Chinese trade data and production curbs in major steelmaking regions [2]. This increase in demand has led to a surge in freight rates, with average daily earnings for capesize vessels increasing by $2,180 to $19,633, and for panamax vessels rising by $801 to $17,544 [2].

The Freightos Baltic Index (FBX), which provides market rates for 40′ containers, also reflects this trend. FBX is based on aggregated and anonymized real-time business data from global freight carriers, freight forwarders, and shippers, making it one of the most accurate real-time representations of market rates available [3].

The FBX flagship index is a weighted average of twelve regional route indexes, covering trade lanes from China to North America and Europe, among others. The regions are defined by the ports listed in the provided material [3].

The increase in the Baltic Dry Index indicates a strong demand for dry bulk commodities, which is likely to continue supporting the shipping industry. Investors and financial professionals should monitor this trend, as it may impact the pricing of dry bulk commodities and the performance of shipping companies.

References:
[1] https://www.tradingview.com/news/te_news:470045:0-baltic-dry-index-at-near-1-month-high/
[2] https://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2025:newsml_L4N3TB175:0-baltic-dry-index-rises-to-four-week-high-on-broad-based-vessel-gains/
[3] https://terminal.freightos.com/freightos-baltic-index-global-container-pricing-index/