It will be of particular interest to:
- Reporting shipbroker panelists
- Shipowners
- Charterers
- FFA brokers
- Freight futures traders
- Energy companies
- Financial institutions
Baltic indices and route rates are produced by a panel of leading shipbrokers around the world who provide the Exchange with their assessments of freight rates on 39 of the major dry and wet cargo trading routes.
Baltic Exchange Chief Executive, Jim Buckley, welcoming the launch of the consultative group, said:
"The new group will provide both the users and producers of our dry and wet market assessments with a clear line of communication to the Exchange. We hope to achieve wider consensus on matters such as new route definitions and market practice and ensure that the Exchange's assessments continue to be the best available."
The Exchange produces a wide range of independent freight market information including 39 freight rate assessments, a coal assessment and six indices daily. They are used by both the futures and physical markets as settlement mechanisms for their contracts.
Chaired by Exchange marketing manager, Janet Sykes, the FMFCG will meet three times a year, both in London and overseas. The inaugural meeting is scheduled for 2 October at the Baltic Exchange.
Items on the agenda, amongst others, will include the expansion of the Exchange's tanker market information and consideration of principals entering prices directly into the Exchange's on-line freight derivatives trading system.
By providing an e-mail discussion forum, the Baltic will enable the widest possible participation.
Baltic members wishing to join the group should contact Janet Sykes on: +44 (0)20 7369 1676; or e-mail: jsykes@balticexchange.com with their contact details.
Following wide consultation with the freight derivative users, brokers and producers of its dry freight market information, the Exchange will include the highest and lowest route assessments made by its panel of reporting shipbrokers in its calculation of dry route and index information.
Michael McClure, chairman of the Baltic's Freight Indices and Futures Committee (FIFC) and vice-president of the US-based Navios Corporation, a leading bulk shipping operation, welcomed the move, commenting:
"These improvements are a good example of how very useful industry-wide consultation can be. The changes that have been made are part of the Exchange's continuous efforts to refine its assessments, enabling them to reflect the ever-changing physical market more accurately."
The changes will take effect at the beginning of September.
