Baltic index up for ninth-straight session on firmer capesize demand
Sept 3 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose for a ninth-straight session on Tuesday, holding on to a near nine-year peak touched last week, helped by stronger capesize demand.
* The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, gained 59 points, or 2.4%, to 2,501, a level last seen in November 2010.
* The capesize index rose 203 points, or 4.4%, to 4,862 points, its highest since June 2010.
* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $1,418 to $37,519.
* Chinese iron ore futures rose more than 4% on Tuesday, extending gains into a fourth session, as steel mills restocked raw materials.
* The panamax index fell one point to 2,261.
* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, fell $3 to $18,113.
* The supramax index gained four points to 1,350. (Reporting by Anjishnu Mondal in Bengaluru)
