FX.co ★ Baltic Dry Index Up for 3rd Day

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index, an indicator of shipping rates for vessels transporting dry commodities, experienced its third consecutive increase on Monday, edging up 0.6% to reach 1,282 points. The capesize index, which monitors ships capable of carrying 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, similarly marked a third session of gains, rising 1.3% to 1,827 points. Meanwhile, the panamax index, generally associated with vessels transporting 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, ended a nine-session losing streak by climbing four points to 1,190 points. In contrast, smaller vessel performance was mixed, with the supramax index declining 0.3% to 936 points. Looking toward the near-term future, Yannis Parganas from Intermodal commented that "bulk carriers are expected to navigate challenges as rising protectionism is likely to restrain activity. Concurrently, fleet growth, spurred by new vessel deliveries set for 2025, is anticipated to exceed the pace of commodity demand growth."