The Baltic Dry Index advanced from a 25-year low and rose for the first time since Dec. 12 after falling rates boosted the number of dry-bulk owners dropping anchor and refusing hire, Bloomberg reports.

The index that tracks freight rates across four vessel sizes gained one point to 648, ending a 33-day decline as average hire costs for Panamax bulkers gained for a second consecutive session.

Earnings are reaching a bottom and pushing up rents as more ships withdraw services, Natasha Boyden, an analyst at New York investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald LP, said in an e-mailed report.

“With rates near or below cash break-even for every vessel class we’re starting to see more ships anchoring and refusing to trade,” Boydon wrote. “We wouldn’t be surprised to see earnings find some sort of bottom at these levels, which of course doesn’t necessarily imply things will rebound any time soon.”

The index declined as much as 63 percent this year and 66 percent since Dec. 12 amid a downturn in demand for the fleet of more than 8,900 dry bulk vessels, which has expanded by a record for two consecutive years. Its close of 647 points on Feb. 3 was the lowest since August 1986, exchange data show. The index peaked at 11,793 on May 20, 2008.