The Baltic Dry Index rose, rebounding from 11 sessions of declines, on higher charter rates for the two largest classes of commodity-hauling ships.

The gauge added 0.1 percent to 740, figures from the London-based Baltic Exchange showed today. It slid 12 percent during the streak of drops. Hire costs gained 2.1 percent for Capesizes, the biggest carriers of iron ore and coal, and increased 0.9 percent for Panamaxes, the largest vessels to navigate the Panama Canal.

The shipping market is “as dull as dishwater” as charter rates hover around levels that equal operating costs excluding fuel, Oslo-based investment bank Arctic Securities ASA said in an e-mailed report. Capesize returns had the largest change since Jan. 25 today in percent terms, according to the exchange’s figures.

The global fleet of 9,489 bulk carriers will haul an estimated 4.2 billion metric tons of cargo this year, according to Clarkson Plc, the biggest shipbroker. The index’s average in 2012 was the lowest in 26 years as fleet growth outpaced slowing global demand for commodities.

Daily average Capesize returns rose to $7,416, according to the exchange’s figures. Panamaxes, at the lowest level in almost four months yesterday, climbed for the first time since Jan. 14 to $5,207.

Supramax ships, about 25 percent smaller than Panamaxes, slid for an 18th session to $7,044. Handysizes, the smallest vessels in the index, dropped 1.7 percent to $6,434. Returns for both vessel types are the lowest since November.

-- Source from Bloomberg