The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose for a sixth-straight session on Thursday, holding near a 5-1/2 year high, supported by firmer panamax and supramax demand.

The Baltic index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities, gained 10 points, or 0.4%, to 2,277, a level last seen in December 2013.

The capesize index fell 7 points, or 0.2%, to 4,206.

Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, dipped $9 to $32,191.

The panamax index rose 14 points, or 0.6%, to 2,249, a peak since December 2010.

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, rose $115 to $18,012.

The supramax index gained 18 points to 1,328.