Final decision on open consultation on iron ore indices methodology: pricing notice

Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for iron ore indices, via an open consultation process between March 10 to April 7 2025.This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.

A full list of all the prices covered can be found in the original consultation.

Fastmarkets received feedback suggesting an adjustment to the base specifications for its MB-IRO-0008 iron ore 62% Fe fines index to better reflect the mid-grade iron ore products traded in the spot market, given the likelihood that a major mid-grade iron ore fines brand specification will be adjusted at the end of the second quarter of 2025. Fastmarkets will therefore study the feasibility of a such a change and start internal trial calculations. If the feasibility study supports such an adjustment, a separate market consultation will be launched in due course.

This original open consultation sought to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical markets under indexation, in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs). This includes all elements of our pricing process, our price specifications and publication frequencies.

The current methodology for Fastmarkets’ iron ore indices can be found here.

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

What to read next
The publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-MN-0008 Manganese sulfate 32% Mn min, battery grade, exw mainland China, price assessment for Thursday January 22, 2026, was delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. The following price was affected: MB-MN-0008 – Manganese sulfate 32% Mn min, battery grade, exw mainland China The price is a […]
Fastmarkets invites feedback on the methodology of its MB-LI-0033 lithium hydroxide, battery grade, spot price cif China, Japan & Korea price and MB-LI-0029 lithium carbonate, battery grade, spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea price. The consultation will consider observed pricing divergences between China, Japan and South Korea.
Korea Zinc confirms that zinc shipments remain unaffected despite the LME's temporary delivery suspension starting April 14.
As previously announced, Fastmarkets has discontinued its legacy assessments for bleached and unbleached European sack kraft as of January 22 2026.
Following a market consultation, Fastmarkets launched European average prices for bleached and unbleached sack kraft with effect from January 22 2026 to complement our existing country-specific sack kraft assessments.
The proposed amendments will see the publication time of the two FOT Qingdao indices for MB-IRO-0011 iron ore 61% Fe fines, fot Qingdao, yuan/wet tonne, and MB-IRO-0022 iron ore 61% Fe fines, fot Qingdao, $/dmt conversion change from daily at 6:30pm Singapore time to daily at 6:30pm Shanghai time, as well as to be aligned with the Chinese pricing […]