Lower panamax rates pull Baltic Exchange index down

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Wednesday, pulled down by weaker activity in panamax vessels.
* The overall index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, fell 1 point or 0.12 percent to 829 points.
* The Baltic's panamax index dropped 19 points or 2.11 percent to 880 points.
* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, were down $150 to $7,018.
* The capesize index however, rose 12 points, or 0.91 percent, to 1,333 points on Wednesday.
* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $121 to $5,136.
* "Even though temperatures leave little impression of an approaching summer the (panamax) rates certainly are. The growing list of end May positions in the Atlantic has caused rates to slip with about 28.5 percent decline since last week," shipbroker Fearnleys said in its weekly report on Wednesday.
Source: Reuters, (Reporting by Shrutee Sarkar in Bangalore; Editing by Alison Birrane)