Oil prices dropped by more than $2 a barrel yesterday following fresh evidence of US demand weakness while freight rates for transporting commodities to China continued their recent rally.
The Baltic Dry index jumped 5.5 per cent to 3,954 points as the global benchmark for freight costs for dry bulk commodities rose because of strong demand for iron ore and coal from China and growing ship congestion outside key ports. The index has surged 32.4 per cent over the past two weeks.
