BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's coastal bulk freight market saw an overall demand growth in September, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE).

Photo: VCG

The composite index for coastal bulk freight climbed to 1,094.11 in September, up 5.1 percent from a month earlier, the SSE said.

The index averaged 1,031.61 as of Oct. 9 since the beginning of 2019, down from an average of 1,149.05 for 2018.

Last month, the sub-index for grain saw the strongest rally of 16.4 percent to stand at 984.96, followed by that for coal and metal ore.

The sub-index for crude oil remained unchanged in September, according to the exchange.

The SSE initiated the index in 2001 under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport to fully reflecting the fluctuation of the Chinese coastal transport market.