Baltic Dry Index Rises to Near 2-Week High

The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose by 1.2% to its highest since September 11 at 3,473 points on Thursday. The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes, including iron ore and coal, increased by 1.3% to 5,939 points; and the panamax index, which usually carries 60,000 to 70,000 tons of coal or grain, advanced 2.1% to 2,382 points. Among smaller vessels, the supramax index went up by 0.2% to 1,782 points.