The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) closed the year just a few points shy of its all time low.

On 24 December, the index’s last day of trading for 2015, the BDI closed up three points at 478 points, just seven points higher than its all time low. The BDI hit an all time low of 471 points on 16 December.

Prior to February this year the lowest the index had hit since it was started in 1986, was 554 points in August of that year.