The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index drifted lower on Thursday, having gained in the last seven sessions to hit a high since October, as rates eased for the capesize and panamax vessel segments.

The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, slipped by 10 points, or 0.5%, to 1,970, from a five-month high touched in the previous session.

The capesize index fell 65 points, or 3%, to 2,092.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $536 to $17,353.

The panamax index edged lower by a point to 2,217 points.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, fell $6 to $19,956.

The supramax index rose 34 points to 2,051, its highest since at least April 2017, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Source: Reuters