Commodity-Shipping Rates Extend Decline, Led by Larger Vessels
This article is for subscribers only.
The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity-shipping costs, fell for the 34th consecutive day, the longest decline in almost nine years, as rates plunged to hire larger iron ore carriers.
Rents for capesize ships that haul iron ore to make steel fell 17 percent, the most since October 2008. Steel prices in China, the biggest iron-ore consumer, are likely to drop 10 percent for the rest of the year, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a note on July 12. Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., the biggest publicly traded steelmaker in China, cut steel prices for a second month.