Dry Bulk Descent Deep into Record Lows Continues: Baltic Dry Index Hits 337, but JP Morgan Sees Better Times Ahead?

The investment bankers have given upgrades to three listed dry bulk companies.

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) Wednesday continued its now familiar descent, sliding even further into deep, deep record lows.

The sector's key benchmark ended at 337 today, down eight points.

Again, average spot TC rates were down across the board, with capesize falling to $3,063 per day, while average spot TC rates for Panamax and Supramax vessels dropped to $2,428 per day, and $3,416 per day respectively.

To put this decline into perspective, just two months ago the BDI made headlines after it fell below the 500 point mark for the first time ever, and the index stood at 1,222 on August 5, 2015; that was not even six months ago, and it has fallen 72 percent since then.

Unsurprisingly, Scorpio Bulkers Inc [NYSE:SALT] (Scorpio Bulkers), Star Bulk Carriers Corp. [NASDAQ:SBLK] (Star Bulk), and Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. [NYSE:NM] (Navios Maritime) have seen their shares fall between 83 and 90 percent over the last year.

On Monday Ship & Bunker reported that Scorpio Bulkers' chief executive Emanuele Lauro warned it "will go under if this market persists," and earlier this month Star Bulk said its share price had fallen so far it was facing the prospect of being delisted.

Dire times indeed, then. And as vessel values fall along with rates, as does the confidence of bunker players in the beleaguered operators' ability to pay their bunker bills.

Presumably welcome news then today is that JPMorgan evidently believes it can see the proverbial light at the end of what is turning out to be a very, very long tunnel.

The investment bankers have reportedly given upgrades to all three listed companies, with Navios Maritime and Scorpio Bulkers getting bumped up to rating of overweight.

"Star Bulk only got an upgrade to neutral - but hey, any port in a storm," observed independent analyst and Motley Fool contributor Rich Smith.

Earlier this week Ship & Bunker reported that Lauro opinioned that, whoever the survivors of dry-bulkageddon are, they could be in store for a windfall.