HONG KONG (Bloomberg) — Precious Shipping Pcl, Thailand's second largest shipping company, rose to the highest level in almost three weeks after its managing director said freight rates will remain high, boosting profit.

Precious Shipping gained as much as 0.6 baht, or 3.1 percent, to 19.7 and traded at 19.6 baht at the 12:30 p.m. lunch break in Bangkok on Monday.

Demand for shipping grain will remain strong for the rest of this year, said Managing Director Khalid Hashim in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

"The wealth impact is driving the desire to eat better quality food, which is again driving demand for grains," Hashim said. "I suspect the freight rate will muddle along at the very high level currently."

Precious Shipping shares have gained 10 percent since July 31, when the company said almost all of its freight capacity is booked this year and forecast earnings over the next 12 months "look good."

The advance has trimmed the stock's loss this year to 32 percent, compared with a 21 percent decline in the benchmark SET Index.