Ship Rates Rise Most on Record as China Seen Buying Ore
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The cost of shipping iron ore jumped the most on record amid speculation that Chinese traders are increasing purchases of the raw material used in steel.
Daily rates for Capesize vessels hauling about 160,000 metric tons of the commodity jumped 38 percent to $12,580 today, according to the Baltic Exchange in London, a shipping bourse tracking freight rates on more than 50 routes. The advance was the biggest in percentage terms in data starting in March 1999. Costs climbed by more in dollar terms in December.