Ticker	Volume	Price	Price Delta
DJIA	15,303.10	+8.60	0.06%
S&P 500	1,649.60	-0.91	-0.06%
Nasdaq	3,459.14	-0.27	-0.01%

Ticker

Volume

Price

Price Delta

DJIA

15,303.10

+8.60

0.06%

S&P 500

1,649.60

-0.91

-0.06%

Nasdaq

3,459.14

-0.27

-0.01%

Ticker	Volume	Price	Price Delta
STOXX 50	2,764.29	-12.49	-0.45%
FTSE 100	6,654.34	-42.45	-0.63%
DAX	8,305.32	-46.66	-0.56%

Ticker

Volume

Price

Price Delta

STOXX 50

2,764.29

-12.49

-0.45%

FTSE 100

6,654.34

-42.45

-0.63%

DAX

8,305.32

-46.66

-0.56%

Ticker	Volume	Price	Price Delta
Nikkei	14,612.50	+128.47	0.89%
Hang Seng	22,618.70	-51.01	-0.23%
S&P/ASX 200	4,983.50	-78.95	-1.56%

Ticker

Volume

Price

Price Delta

Nikkei

14,612.50

+128.47

0.89%

Hang Seng

22,618.70

-51.01

-0.23%

S&P/ASX 200

4,983.50

-78.95

-1.56%

Dry-Bulk Shipping Conditions Likely to Weaken, Platou Says

By Alaric Nightingale - 2012-02-15T14:22:20Z

Conditions in the dry-bulk shipping market are likely to weaken this year as the supply of ships expands faster than demand, according to RS Platou Economic Research, a unit of Norway’s largest shipbroker.

The fleet of commodity carriers will swell by 11 percent to 12 percent this year, about double Platou’s forecasted expansion of 5 percent to 6 percent in seaborne commodities trade.

“The fleet will grow at a higher rate than tonnage demand, resulting in a further weakening of the market fundamentals,” Bjorn Bodding, a senior partner at Platou Economic Research, said in a report sent by e-mail today. “Any potential upsides appear limited.”

The 14-member Bloomberg Pure Play Dry Bulk Shipping Index, measuring the share prices of companies hauling raw materials, declined 26 percent in the past year. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of freight rates, fell 41 percent over the same time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alaric Nightingale in London at anightingal1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alaric Nightingale at anightingal1@bloomberg.net

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