Baltic index ticks up as capesize rates rise
May 24 (Reuters) - The Baltic exchange's main sea freight index rose on Monday, buoyed by an uptick in capesize vessel rates.
* The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, rose 12 points, or 0.4%, to 2,881.
* The capesize index rose 28 points, or 0.7%, to 3,958.
* Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore, increased by $232 to $32,825.
* Asia's iron ore futures tumbled, leading another bout of selling in the metals complex, after China's state planner warned against commodity price manipulation and vowed to clamp down on speculative trading.
* The panamax index fell 15 points, or 0.5%, to 2,840, declining for a second straight session.
* Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, dropped by $135 to $25,558.
* Seven ships, six of them large panamax vessels, loaded with farm products were moored at Argentina's export hub of Rosario during a strike by tugboat captains. After the strike, they were unable to embark as they had been loaded with more cargo than could be carried on the port's increasingly shallow waters.
* The supramax index rose by 20 points to 2,428. (Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
