Baltic Dry Index Edges Up, Posts Weekly Gain

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index, which tracks rates for vessels transporting dry commodities, rose about 0.7% to its highest since July 28 at 2,126 on Friday, after decreasing by 0.1% in the prior session.

The capesize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose about 1% to 3,070 points; and the panamax index, which usually carries 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain, went up 0.4% to its highest in over a year at 2,006 points.

Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose about 0.5% to 1,492 points.

For the week, the benchmark index advanced by 7.4%, its strongest weekly performance since July 21.