BALTIC INDEX WARNS OF DISASTER CLOSING IN
JEFF BERWICK
DollarVigilante.com
NOVEMBER 10, 2015
ZeroHedge carried an article on the Baltic Dry Index which measures global trade and announced, “It’s Official: The Baltic Dry Index Has Crashed To Its Lowest November Level In History.”
The Baltic Dry Index measures freight travel around the world. If freight is not traveling from one country to another, then economic activity is probably in the doldrums and so are a variety of exporting economies.
Here, from Investopedia, the definition of the Index:
A shipping and trade index created by the London-based Baltic Exchange that measures changes in the cost to transport raw materials such as metals, grains and fossil fuels by sea. The Baltic Exchange directly contacts shipping brokers to assess price levels for a given route, product to transport and time to delivery (speed).
Autumn is supposed to be a good time for the index. In other words, consumers are purchasing more goods for a variety of reasons. The school year is beginning and so is the holiday season.
The actual growth arc is from the middle of summer through Thanksgiving. But that arc has been notably absent this year as the Index has moved disturbingly down during the season of its greatest supposed strength.
At a level of 631, this is the lowest cost for Baltic Dry Freight Index for this time of year in history.. and within a small drop of an all-time historical low.
The Rest…HERE
