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Baltic Dry closes in on 4,000 points

Baltic Dry closes in on 4,000 points

London: The Baltic Dry index jumped 5.5 per cent to 3,954 points yesterday as China's huge demand for iron ore and coal has intensified ship congestion outside key ports. The index has surged 32.4 per cent over the past two weeks.
Australian iron ore demand in China is surging and there's also just two days to go before China's northern regions get their free winter heating, requiring vast amounts of coal-fired power.
The BDI is likely to crack through 4,000 points today, a figure that many earlier in the year could not have hoped for. For instance, back in April at this year's Seatrade co-organised Sea Asia event in Singapore, an e-poll was carried out among delegates asking how high the BDI would go this year; just 24% of the delegates foresaw the index cresting the 4,000 mark this year. China's insatiable raw material appetite has surprised everyone this year in its sheer scale.  [13/11/09]