Baltic Dry Index (BDI)
F5. The Reference Layer: Glossary, Units, Signals and Information SourcesDefinition
Composite dry-bulk freight index published by the Baltic Exchange.
The Baltic Dry Index is the Baltic Exchange’s composite of dry-bulk freight rates, published each London business day, weighting the Capesize, Panamax, and Supramax timecharter assessments. It is a price index of moving raw materials (iron ore, coal, grain) by sea, not a tradable instrument, and is read as a barometer of bulk shipping demand. It is benchmarked against the segment indices BCI, BPI, and BSI; forward freight agreements settle against the Baltic route assessments that build it.