The Dry Bulk Index started February at around 1400 points and steadily grew during the month. It’s a similar level to this time last year. The monthly trade data shows that there was no growth compared to last year in terms of tonne mile but in terms of the cargo distribution the map has changed quite significantly. Iron ore was down 21% month on month and down 5% compared to last year. Coal saw some gains in February but it is still down 6% compared to last year. The real gains came from agriculture and ores and minerals.
Wheat trade was at 17.2 million tonnes in February up from 14.4 million tonnes the month before. This may be due to the Russia Ukraine conflict which was escalating during February.