China Ocean Shipping Group (COSCO) expects the Baltic Dry Index to extend a 46% rally over the past month due to Chinese demand for iron ore and grains, Bloomberg reported. “The rebound may be bumpy, but in the final quarter the index should be much higher,” said Kong Fanhua, a senior researcher with COSCO. The company is the world’s largest operator of dry-bulk ships. This view is supported by Hanjin Shipping of South Korea, which said the index – the main measure of shipping costs for commodities – could hit 4,000 points by the end of the year, a gain of 61%. The index closed at 2,488 yesterday, having reached a 15-month low of 1,700 in July. China’s iron ore imports rose for the first time in four months in July, while Australian wheat exports to China are at their highest level in five years.
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