Baltic Dry Index At 1693, Down 4.5%
Baltic exchange released it’s first pricing after Christmas. Baltic Dry Index was reported down 4.5% at 1,693. Lowest reading since April 2009.
Large factor here are Queensland floods. Bloomberg link: Queensland’s Flooding May Cut Freight Rates as Coal Transporters Lie Idle.
Freight costs fell as Queensland’s worst flooding for 50 years prompted buyers of the Australian state’s coal to cancel ship charters, intensifying competition for cargoes as the extra vessels become available.
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Producers of power-station coal in Indonesia and South Africa are unlikely to have time to increase their output, potentially generating alternative vessel demand, because the Queensland disruption probably will be too short, according to Svenning at Fearnley.
It’s quite worrying that (despite fleet growth and floods) BDI is at these low levels.
Chart 1. Baltic Dry Index
