EU, US HRC indices methodologies – open consultation

Fastmarkets is inviting feedback from the industry on its pricing methodologies for its Northern Europe and United States hot-rolled coil indices as part of its annual methodology review process.

In compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO) principles for price reporting agencies, this consultation, which is open until May 5, 2022, seeks to ensure that our methodology continues to reflect the physical markets under the steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe, €/tonne and the steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US, $/cwt. This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications and publication frequency.

The specifications of the indices are as follows:

MB-STE-0028 Northern Europe domestic HRC Index
Quality: Grade s235jr, 1,200-1,300mm, thickness 3mm. Standard extras for dimensions excluded
Quantity: Min 50 tonnes Location: Ex-works Northern Europe (defined as Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium)
Timing: Up to 6 weeks
Unit: €/tonne (longer delivery times will be considered under unusual conditions when no material is available for delivery within 6 weeks)
Payment terms: Typical commercial practice in the HRC market. Transactions that are conducted on different payment or credit terms will be adjusted back to the base specifications, taking into account discounts and standard
Publication: Daily, 4pm London time
Notes: Only material offered to/traded within Northern Europe, as defined above, will be considered

MB-STE-0184 Steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US, $/cwt
Quality: 0.09 inch-0.38 inch thick x 48-72 inches wide ASTM A1011 Commercial Steel and corresponding grades
Quantity: Min 50 tons
Location: fob US mill, excluding Pacific states (Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and Hawaii) as defined by the US Census Bureau.
Unit: $ per hundredweight
Publication: Daily by 5pm New York time.
Notes: Standard packaging, raw materials surcharges included. Payment terms are typical commercial practice in the HRC market. Transactions that are conducted on different payment or credit terms will be adjusted back to the base specifications, taking into account discounts and standard commercial terms.

To provide feedback on the annual review of the steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe, €/tonne, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this index, please contact Ross Yeo by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Ross Yeo re: annual methodology review of Fastmarkets Northern Europe HRC Index.”

To provide feedback on the annual review of the steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US, $/cwt, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this index, please contact Thorsten Schier by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Thorsten Schier re: annual methodology review of Fastmarkets US HRC Index.”

Please specify if your response is confidential. Opinions offered in confidential responses may be referenced but will not be attributed in any way.

Fastmarkets will publish the outcome of this methodology review by May 10, including all feedback unless noted as confidential. Any proposals to make material changes, discontinue or launch prices will involve a separate market consultation, the length of which will depend on how substantial the change is for the industry.

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

What to read next
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 […]
This price is a part of the Fastmarkets scrap package. For more information on our North America Ferrous Scrap methodology and specifications please click here. To get in touch about access to this price assessment, please contact customer.success@fastmarkets.com.
This consultation was done as an adhoc methodology review process, aiming to better reflect the physical market under indexation, considering its reduced liquidity linked to the combination of seasonal demand patterns and the implementation of cross-border import tariffs between the US and China. No feedback was received during the consultation period and therefore Fastmarkets will […]
Full details of the prices covered by this consultation can be found here: https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/open-consultation-on-annual-methodology-review-for-global-pulp-pricing-notice/ During the consultation, Fastmarkets requested comments on whether current discount levels for US market pulp have grown too high and invited open-ended feedback on potential remedies moving forward. Feedback from the industry was mixed. Potential remedies suggested by the industry included […]
Fastmarkets has corrected the rationale for its MB-CO-0021 cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low-end), which was published incorrectly on Wednesday July 2 due to a reporter error.