Baltic Supramax Index (BSI)

What is the Baltic Supramax Index?

The Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) is a dry-bulk freight benchmark published by the Baltic Exchange. It combines assessed timecharter routes for a standard 63,500 dwt Supramax vessel. The number is an index reading, not a dollar quote for a particular voyage. Use the source observation date shown with the value when comparing it with a cargo or another freight series.

How does Supramax differ from the Baltic Dry Index?

The BSI isolates the Supramax vessel class. The Baltic Dry Index combines timecharter components from Capesize, Panamax and Supramax, so its headline move can differ from the Supramax market. Compare the BSI with the Panamax and Capesize indices to see whether a dry-bulk change is shared across vessel sizes.

How often is the BSI updated?

The Baltic Exchange publishes the Supramax benchmark on London business days. OilPriceAPI shows the source observation date and checks freshness before presenting a reading as current. If a newer assessment has not arrived, the page labels the last reading stale and leaves its value out of the search title. A new collection time alone does not make an older source assessment current.

Who uses the BSI?

• Dry-bulk traders comparing smaller-vessel freight with cargo prices
• Shipowners and charterers tracking Supramax market assessments
• Analysts separating Supramax moves from the Baltic Dry Index

How do I get Baltic Supramax Index data via API?

Request the latest BSI value from the OilPriceAPI REST endpoint using the code BALTIC_SUPRAMAX_INDEX. Sign up for a free API key, then call:

curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=BALTIC_SUPRAMAX_INDEX" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

The response is JSON with the latest available value, currency/unit and publication timestamp. Poll on the index's publish cadence — every london business day (daily) — rather than every minute.

Is Baltic Supramax Index data available as CSV?

Yes. Every price endpoint accepts format=csv and responds with the content type text/csv and a header row, instead of JSON. Same request, same publish cadence — one extra parameter:

curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=BALTIC_SUPRAMAX_INDEX&format=csv" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

You can confirm the format before signing up. This demo request needs no API key and returns real CSV:

curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/demo/prices?format=csv"

It answers with the content type text/csv and a header row, followed by one row per series. Use it to confirm that CSV is real before you sign up — but build your parser against the price endpoint, not against the demo: the two return different columns. The demo set also covers oil benchmarks only and does not include the freight indices.

code,name,price,currency,updated_at,change_24h,source

price,formatted,currency,code,created_at,updated_at,type,unit,source,as_of,collected_at,synthetic,stale,age_days

Check as_of for the source publication time and stale before relying on a value; collected_at records collection time. There is no name or change_24h column. Both header rows above were taken from live responses on 2026-08-21; treat column order as stable but read by name, not by index.

When the BSI is not the right data