Open consultation on methodology review for Fastmarkets’ iron ore indices

Fastmarkets is inviting feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for its iron ore indices, as part of its announced annual methodology review process.

The prices subject to this annual review are as follows:
MB-IRO-0016 Iron ore 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0017 Iron ore 58% Fe fines high-grade premium index, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0015 Iron ore 58% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0021 Iron ore 62% Fe fines, % Al2O3 VIU, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0018 Iron ore 62% Fe fines, % Fe VIU, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0020 Iron ore 62% Fe fines, % Si VIU, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0024 Iron ore 62% Fe fines, 0.01% P VIU, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0008 Iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0022 Iron ore 62% Fe fines, fot Qingdao
MB-IRO-0011 Iron ore 62% Fe fines, fot Qingdao
MB-IRO-0144 Iron ore 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0010 Iron ore 62.5% Fe Australia-origin lump ore premium, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0012 Iron ore 65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0009 Iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0019 Iron ore 65% Fe fines, % Fe VIU, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0189 Iron ore 65% Fe concentrate premium, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0013 Iron ore 65% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0177 Iron ore pellet premium over 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr China
MB-IRO-0187 Iron ore 67.5% Fe pellet feed premium, cfr Qingdao
MB-IRO-0188 Iron ore 67.5% Fe pellet feed, cfr Qingdao

This consultation, which is open until April 7, 2025, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market 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 frequency.

You can find the current methodology for Fastmarkets’ iron ore indices here.

Please send responses in writing, preferably in electronic format, to the following address: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Alice Li, re: Iron ore indices methodology annual review, 2025.” Please specify whether 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 April 10, 2025, including a summary of the feedback, with the exception of those responses marked 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.

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

What to read next
The publication date for Fastmarkets’ Chinese tissue jumbo rolls assessments has been corrected to April 3, 2026, from April 1, 2026.
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the publication times and holiday pricing schedule for a number of its base metal assessments for the Asian market, with the proposed changes to come into effect from Monday May 18.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ India domestic recycled containerboard price assessments for Friday April 3 will be delayed due to staffing availabilities.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ European low-carbon aluminium differential assessments for Thursday April 2 were delayed because of a procedural error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-AL-0379 Aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp Italy (Brescia region), inferred low-carbon, and Aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region), inferred low-carbon midpoint assessments, which were published incorrectly on Friday April 2, due to a procedural error.
Fastmarkets plans to change the timestamp of several of its agriculture prices linked to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and MIAX Futures Exchange to align the time of publication with the exchanges’ settlement time. The change in timestamp will affect both premiums and outright prices that use those futures as an underlying benchmark, with the change to take effect on May 11.