Amendment to iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines index specifications

Fastmarkets has decided to amend the base specifications of its iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines index to more closely align with the specifications of Brazilian high-grade fines.

Fastmarkets’ index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao, $/tonne [MB-IRO-0009] tracks the spot prices of Brazil-origin 65% Fe iron ore fines in the CFR China spot market, with its base specifications set to match the prevailing quality of the Carajas fines product, IOCJ.

Following a three-month consultation, Fastmarkets will amend the silica, alumina and phosphorus base specifications of the index in response to an observed change in the specifications of Carajas fines. The amendment aims to realign the index base specifications to that of the Carajas fines to ensure the index specification remains representative of the ore grade it seeks to reflect.

The amendment is not anticipated to impact the index price level, as analysis suggests that any expected price impacts resulting from the change in impurity specifications balance out, that is, the rise in silica base specification is offset by the reduction in alumina and phosphorus base specifications.

The previous specifications of this index were:
Fe content: Base 65%, range 63.5-66%
Silica: Base 1.7%
Alumina: Base 1.5%
Phosphorus: Base 0.08%
Sulfur: Base 0.01%
Moisture: Base 9%

The amended specifications are:
Fe content: Base 65%, range 63.5-66%
Silica: Base 2.2%
Alumina: Base 1.4%
Phosphorus: Base 0.075%
Sulfur: Base 0.01%
Moisture: Base 9%

The amendment to Fastmarkets’ iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines index takes effect on Monday January 1, 2024.

To provide feedback on the index, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this price, please email pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Jane Fan, re: Iron Ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines index.”

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.

What to read next
Fastmarkets has corrected its daily AG-PLM-0012 refined bleached deodorised (RBD) palm olein, fob Indonesia price assessment, which was published incorrectly on July 7 due to an input error.
Fastmarkets has had a strong interest in the proposed new assessments and would like to gather additional information on the specification and grades that should assess.  Based on the feedback, the proposed specifications have been updated as follows:  Quality: Selected Nordic (Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian) export grades of both planed and rough sawn timber spruce (whitewood) […]
While Fastmarkets understands that the PIX sawn timber FAS Finland indices have not been widely adopted by the industry, we have received feedback that there is commercial use for the indices. Therefore, we propose to maintain them for the time being.  The following indices are affected:  The extended consultation period for this proposed discontinuation starts […]
To increase the transparency of our methodology, Fastmarkets clarifies that the quotation period of the MHP nickel payable indicator is the month of delivery, or the month M. Any data points Fastmarkets received otherwise will be normalized to the M month based on the monthly spreads of the prevailing exchange-traded Class-1 nickel reference price, or […]
Following an initial consultation with the market and a review of the typical data sets that have been collected over recent months, Fastmarkets is proposing changes to the specifications of the index for MB-IRO-0009 iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao, by raising the silica base specification to 2.7% from 2.2%, as well as an […]
The corrections are as follows: AG-BRY-0004 Barley Feed barley FOB Argentina $/mt Incorrect prices: August $119.00 per tonne Corrected to: August $219.00 per tonne Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated to reflect this change. These prices are part of the Fastmarkets Ags Grains package. For more information or to provide feedback on this correction notice or […]