Baltic Dry Index falls 3.1 percent on Friday to lowest since July 3

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk freight index fell 88 points, or 3.1 percent, to 2,752 on Friday, July 17, 2026, its lowest since July 3, driven mainly by weaker capesize rates.

The capesize index, which ships cargoes of about 150,000 tonnes of iron ore and coal, lost 242 points, or 5.6 percent, to 4,097 and was down nearly 12 percent for the week. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels dropped $2,196 to $33,653.

The dry bulk decline, in contrast with the surge in Persian Gulf tanker rates, shows the Hormuz crisis is weighing more on the energy market and oil routes than on dry bulk shipping.