The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index extended losses for a second day on Wednesday, pressured by weakness in larger Capesize vessel rates.
The main index fell 25 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 1,997 points.
The index had posted its worst day in two weeks on Tuesday.
The Capesize index fell 91 points, or three per cent, to 2,916 points. Average daily earnings for Capesize vessels decreased by $753 to $24,185.
Iron ore futures fell for a second straight session, driven by concerns over the demand outlook stemming from a worsening Sino-US trade spat and rising steel stocks in top consumer China.
The US and China on Tuesday began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil, making the high seas a key front in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
“This development is expected to influence trade flows, potentially raise operational costs, and inject additional volatility into freight sentiment,” said Nikos Tagoulis, Senior Analyst at Intermodal, in a weekly note.
“The avoidance of Chinese cargoes by US-linked vessels is likely to tighten effective tonnage availability, providing sustained support to freight rates rather than a purely temporary spike,” Tagoulis added.
The Panamax index rose 0.3 per cent to 1,821 points. Average daily earnings for Panamax vessels rose by $49 to $16,386.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose 0.7 per cent to 1,418 points.
(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)