China's shipping costs at 18-month high

[LONDON] The cost of shipping iron ore, coal and grains along China's coast rose to an 18-month high as surging imports of the commodities boost demand for vessels to redistribute them between the nation's ports.

The China Coastal Bulk Freight Index measuring the domestic shipping prices for commodities advanced 2.2 per cent to 1,167 points last week, according to data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.

It has risen 11 per cent since the start of the year and is now the highest since April 2012.