Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Baltic Dry Index

Following comment was posted today

Question-What was going on with the Baltic Dry Index this summer? It kept rising monthly all the way through to Nov. and is now falling like a rock?


I remember when it went up dramatically. I thought it was a bit crazy, but didn't say anything. It was when China was stocking up on commodities.

Honestly, I am getting a little concerned about the integrity of the BDI in general. It's a bit of an art, getting comparable rates, as there can be so many variables.

Anyway, I started to do some research, and ran across this in the blog section of Lloyd's List (which is free).

A two-day conference on dry bulk shipping was almost entirely dominated the topic of how much iron ore would China import next year. With China’s huge spike in iron ore demand this year seen as almost entirely responsible for the unexpected recovery in dry bulk shipping rates, the hope is the country’s appetite for iron ore will continue to grow to keep the industry buoyant.


click here for link to complete article. It's worth the read.

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