The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, advanced, extending its longest winning streak in three months amid record imports of iron ore into China.
China, the world's biggest iron ore buyer, said on May 12 that imports of the material expanded to a record for a third straight month.
World wheat production will be the second highest on record in the 2009-10 season, Macquarie Bank Ltd said in a report on Friday.
The Baltic Dry Index, tracking transport costs on international trade routes, rose 112 points, or 4.6 per cent, to 2,544 points, according to the Baltic Exchange in London. That was the 11th consecutive gain, the longest stretch since February, and a weekly jump of 15 per cent.
The index is rebounding from a 92 per cent slump last year. STX Pan Ocean Co, South Korea's largest bulk shipping line, slumped to a first-quarter loss, the company reported on Friday.
'The bulk-shipping industry seems to have hit the bottom the last quarter,' said Jee Heon Seok, a Seoul-based analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co.
Capesize forward freight agreements for the third quarter, used to bet on future shipping rates, were unchanged at US$27,750 a day. Panamax FFAs for the same period gained 0.3 per cent to US$14,750 a day. The data are from broker Imarex NOS ASA.
Capesize rates will drop to US$16,700 a day by July and US$15,400 a day by October as new vessels join the global fleet, Lloyd's List reported on Friday, citing forecasts from Maritime Strategies International Ltd.