The London Baltic Exchange's chief dry sea freight index, which gauges the strength of the global seaborne dry commodities trade, sank to a 3 month low on a seasonal downturn and on fears of recession. The index, which monitors major trade routes for coal, iron ore, cement and soft commodities such as grains and sugar, slid 109 points or 1.25% to 8,621.

Mr Peter Norfolk a senior dry trade analyst with Simpson, Spence & Young ship consultancy in London said that "It's mainly due to a seasonal dip in cargo volumes being shipped, which always occurs in the first quarter. We have also had weather related loading issues in some key countries. There are concerns over the health of the economy, especially in the United States and that's having some effect, but to say it is to do with a slowdown (in the world economy) or a coming recession, that's overblown."

BDI smashed records last year in large part due to strong demand from China and India, thanks to the rapid industrialization of those countries. It has lost just over 20% of its value since hitting an all time high of 11,039 points in mid November 2007.