19 May 2008 - Freight costs for commodities reached a record high on Friday. The Baltic Dry Index rose to 11,459 points, a 3.5% rise on the day.
That broke the record, set the day before (11,067 points). The previous high was 11,039, set on 13 November 2007.
The main drivers of the high freight costs are reported to be the strong demand for commodities as well as port traffic jams.
It is also understood that the higher freight costs will put more inflation pressure on the large importers of basic commodities, such as China.