The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity-shipping costs, fell to the lowest level in almost two years after floods in Australia curbed coal shipments. The index fell 18 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,393 points, according to data from the Baltic Exchange in London.

The gauge, which has risen once since Dec. 6 and has declined 36 percent between then and today, is at its lowest since Feb. 4, 2009. Australia’s Queensland state, source of about half the world’s seaborne coking coal to make steel, suffered the worst flooding in 50 years this month. That closed mines and railways.

The flooding may have cost A$2.3 billion ($2.3 billion) in coal sales, the Queensland Resources Council estimates, with only 15 percent of the state’s 57 coal mines operating at full production. Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal when the fuel burned for power and material used to make steel are combined.

“It’s the absence of the coal,” Peter Norfolk, research director at Freight Investor Services Ltd., a broker of shipping derivatives in London, said by phone today. “The Pacific at least has stabilized, albeit at rock-bottom levels.”

Rates on three Pacific routes from among the index’s nine capesize-vessel class voyages rose today. Capesizes are the biggest ships tracked by the index. They included the Western Australia to Qingdao route for shipping iron ore and the C11 voyage from Asia to Europe.

Costs on the C11 journey have been negative since Jan. 13, meaning shipowners are contributing to clients’ costs to get vessels to the Atlantic Ocean. That’s more cost-effective than sailing empty ships, a practice known as ballasting. Rates were at minus $788 today compared with minus $825 yesterday.

Daily rents for panamaxes that haul coal and iron ore led declines today, dropping 3.7 percent to $13,646, the lowest level since May 1, 2009. The vessels haul coal, iron ore and grains. Rates to hire capesizes fell 1.4 percent to a daily $9,010 today.
Supramaxes gained 0.1 percent to $15,041 and handysizes rose 0.2 percent to $11,422.