A measure of secondhand sales price strength has risen to its highest level since the crash of 2008 as the market for tankers and bulkers pushes up the figure.
The weekly Baltic Sale and Purchase Index inched up by less than a percentage point on Friday, but that was enough to put it above any other reading in 15 years.
The Baltic Exchange index reached 5,044 points, a rise from a recent trough of 4,966 but only a few points higher than the previous 15-year high of 5,041 in June.
The index combines tanker and bulker prices, and gains in both markets drove its rise.
The dry bulk index climbed to 3,215 on Friday, continuing steady increases since it sank to 3,126 on 8 September, marking the highest point for bulkers since 23 June.
The jumps come in a market that has seen busy capesize dealmaking. TradeWinds reported on Tuesday that the latest transactions brought the Exclusiv Shipbrokers count to 78 of the large bulkers sold this year, more than double the same period in 2022.
On Friday, brokers reported sales of 2009-built, Chinese-built capesizes adding to that tally, with a scrubber-fitted vessel fetching $22.7m and one without the equipment fetching $18m.
In July, a scrubber-fitted vessel of those characteristics changed hands for $18.9m.
The tanker index jumped to 6,873 on Friday, continuing gains that started on 15 September, when it bottomed at 6,797 points.
