Feb 26 (Reuters) – The Baltic Exchange’s principal sea freight index, which tracks charges for ships carrying industrial commodities, rose additional on Friday on secure charges for smaller vessels and panamaxes.

The total index, which gauges the price of transport assets together with iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser was up two factors at 327 factors.

The index, which has fallen over 30 % to date this 12 months, touched an all-time low of 290 factors on Feb. 10.

The capesize index was down 5 factors at 177 factors, recording a brand new all-time low.

Average day by day earnings for capesizes, which generally transport 150,000-tonne cargoes equivalent to iron ore and coal, fell $61 to $2,396.

Freight charges for capesize bulk carriers on key Asian routes are more likely to stay round present ranges because the market has an excessive amount of tonnage for present cargo volumes, ship brokers mentioned.

The dry bulk sector has taken a beating from the slowdown in Chinese enterprise at a time when the sector is battling large overcapacity.

The panamax index rose 6 factors to 352 factors. Average day by day earnings for panamaxes, which often carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, was up $45 at $2,823.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index was up 5 factors at 333 factors, whereas the handysize index rose 3 factors to 212 factors. (Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru)

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