Fastmarkets launches blast-furnace-pellet premiums

The launch responds to strong market demand for transparent and independent pricing references in the European pellet market. It also comes amid expectations of higher steel output in the EU. According to Fastmarkets’ research team, EU steel output was 125.98 million tonnes in 2025 and is forecast to rise to 130.35 million tonnes in 2026 and 136.19 million tonnes in 2027.

These BF-grade pellet premiums are assessed over the MB-IRO-0009 Iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao index. The methodology for the underlying index can be found here.

The specifications are as follows:

MB-IRO-0201 Iron ore BF-grade pellet premium, quarterly contract, $ per dmt
Quantity: Minimum 60,000 tonnes
Specification: Fe content 65%
Unit & Currency: USD per dry metric tonne
Data window: Until publication
Payment terms: Payment on sight, other terms normalized
Frequency: First business day of the quarter, as per the UK holiday calendar
Notes: The BF-grade pellet premium is quoted over the MB-IRO-0009 Iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao index.

MB-IRO-0200 Iron ore BF-grade pellet premium indicator, $ per dmt
Quantity: Minimum 60,000 tonnes
Specification: Fe content 65%
Unit & Currency: USD per dry metric tonne
Data window: Until publication
Payment terms: Payment on sight, other terms normalized
Frequency: The first Wednesday of the month
Notes: The BF-grade pellet premium is quoted over the MB-IRO-0009 Iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao index.

Please send any questions or comments to pricing@fastmarkets.com and steel@fastmarkets.com

Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

To see all Fastmarkets pricing methodology and specification documents, go to the Fastmarkets methodology page.