Methodology

Find out how we assess and forecast prices in agriculture, forest products and metals

Being clear about our price assessment and index process is important. You can be confident that our pricing process is impartial, market-reflective and market-aligned. Our core methodology and expertise has defined us for more than 130 years. We pride ourselves on being transparent with our clients about how we assess our prices, so we publish every single methodology and price specification that our pricing teams use.

Learn more about how we assess prices and create forecasts, forward curves and benchmarks in your market:
Assurance reviews
Learn more about our methodology

Verified: Our price reporters are required to follow robust pricing procedures, clearly defined methodologies and price specifications during their market reporting and pricing sessions. All calculations or assessments are verified through our integrated peer review system, to guarantee unrivaled quality control and compliance.

Independent: We continually develop and review our methodologies in consultation with industry participants. Our aim is to adopt product specifications, trading terms, conditions or other factors that reflect and are representative of typical working practices in the industry.

Confidential: Markets are assessed by experienced price reporters each day, via phone calls, emails, texts, etc to a wide variety of market participants on both the buy and sell sides of the market. All communications of price, assessments, contract details and all other information are classified and never shared with third parties.

Mission statement

Fastmarkets Metals and Mining is the leading global provider of pricing intelligence for the non-ferrous metal, steel, steelmaking raw materials, industrial minerals, ferrous and non-ferrous scrap markets, producing price assessments with Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM since 1913 and 1882 respectively.

Fastmarkets Forest Products meanwhile is the leading global provider of pricing intelligence for the global forest products industry, incorporating Fastmarkets RISI, Fastmarkets FOEX and Random Lengths.

And Fastmarkets Agriculture products has delivered pricing transparency to opaque agriculture and energy markets in the form of market-moving reporting and commentary, trusted pricing and price forecasting since 1865.

Our mission is to meet our markets’ data requirements honestly and independently, acting with integrity and care to ensure that the trust and confidence placed in the reliability of our pricing methodologies is maintained. We do not have a vested interest in the markets on which we report.

Fastmarkets’ reporters are required to abide by a code of conduct and clear pricing procedures during their market reporting and pricing activities. Fastmarkets is completely independent and has no vested commercial interest in any of the markets it prices. We are the world’s largest dedicated price reporting team for both metals and forest products. We have offices in London, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Eugene, Charlottesville, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, Sao Paolo, Mumbai, Brussels, Helsinki, Dnipro and Istanbul.

If you have any questions, please contact Fastmarkets Editorial Director Perrine Faye at perrine.faye@fastmarkets.com for metals, Fastmarkets Forest Products’ Senior VP of Indices, Matt Graves, at mgraves@fastmarkets.com for forest products or Editorial Director Tim Worledge at tim.worledge@fastmarkets.com for agricultural products.

Price discovery and methodology

Methodology rationale

Fastmarkets produces independent, fair and representative price assessments and indices of metals and forest products prices on a daily, bi-weekly, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. Fastmarkets’ rationale for adopting the price discovery process described in this methodology document is to produce consistent and representative indicators of value for the lithium markets over defined trading periods. Assessment objective The assessor’s intended aim is to reflect Fastmarkets’ assessment price definition: ‘The prevailing level at which a commodity of stated specification has or could be expected to have transacted over a defined period of time.’ We summarize this for effective use as the prevailing ‘tradeable level’ of the market.

Data contribution

Fastmarkets reporters aim to collect data from a broad sample of market participants involved in the physical lithium markets, with a good representation of both sides of the market, including producers and consumers, as well as traders and intermediaries. Data is collected from industry participants directly involved in the market primarily by telephone but also by email, digital messaging, face-to-face interaction or by direct submission. All data supplied to Fastmarkets is kept confidential and stored in our secure online pricing database system MInD (Market Information Database). Fastmarkets may sign a Data Submitter Agreement (DSA) with any data provider, if requested to do so, to maximize the number of data points collected for inclusion in the assessment process. Any data received subject to a DSA will be used in the pricing assessment but will not be commented on. Market participants may contribute data following a review by Fastmarkets of their activities. The aim is to ensure that submitters have sufficient visibility and understanding of the market in question to be able to provide reliable price data. We expect that data submitters taking part in the pricing process are authorized to report market data on behalf of their organizations. Fastmarkets encourages organizations to submit all their pricing data, especially all the concluded transactions. Price reporters generally speak to, and collect data from, front office staff directly involved in the commercial activity of buying and selling. Fastmarkets also welcomes organizations to submit transaction data from authorized back-office functions.

Fastmarkets’ Data Submitter Policy provides guidelines to ensure the high level of data quality and integrity we expect from contributing organizations providing pricing data. The policy can be found on our website here, or is available on request. Depending on market liquidity, Fastmarkets reserves the right to also base its prices on bids, offers, deals heard and market participant indications of prevailing tradeable values or other indications such as trigger prices that might prompt a sale or purchase.

Fastmarkets Benchmark Administration Oy (FBA) was incorporated in December 2020 to operate as the independent administrator of benchmarks published by price reporting agency (PRA) Fastmarkets and subject to the European Benchmarks Regulation (BMR). It is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, and supervised by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA).

Disclaimer

This Disclaimer is in addition to our Terms and Conditions as available on our website and shall not supersede or otherwise affect these Terms and Conditions. Prices and other information contained in this publication have been obtained by us from various sources believed to be reliable. This information has not been independently verified by us. Those prices and price indices that are evaluated or calculated by us represent an approximate evaluation of current levels based upon dealings (if any) that may have been disclosed prior to publication to us. Such prices are collated through regular contact with producers, traders, dealers, brokers and purchasers although not all market segments may be contacted prior to the evaluation, calculation, or publication of any specific price or index. Actual transaction prices will reflect quantities, grades and qualities, credit terms, and many other parameters. The prices are in no sense comparable to the quoted prices of commodities in which a formal futures market exists.

Evaluations or calculations of prices and price indices by us are based upon certain market assumptions and evaluation methodologies, and may not conform to prices or information available from third parties. There may be errors or defects in such assumptions or methodologies that cause resultant evaluations to be inappropriate for use. Your use or reliance on any prices or other information published by us is at your sole risk. Neither we nor any of our providers of information make any representations or warranties, express or implied as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information forming any part of the published information or its fitness or suitability for a particular purpose or use. Neither we, nor any of our officers, employees or representatives shall be liable to any person for any losses or damages incurred, suffered or arising as a result of use or reliance on the prices or other information contained in this publication, howsoever arising, including but not limited to any direct, indirect, consequential, punitive, incidental, special or similar damage, losses or expenses.

We are not an investment adviser, a financial adviser or a securities broker. The information published has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes and is not intended for trading purposes or to address your particular requirements. The information provided is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, commodity, financial product, instrument or other investment or to participate in any particular trading strategy. Such information is intended to be available for your general information and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any specific investment or other decisions. Your investment actions should be solely based upon your own decisions and research and appropriate independent advice should be obtained from a suitably qualified independent adviser before any such decision is made.