Proposal to refine Fastmarkets’ coking coal index methodology

Fastmarkets proposes to refine its coking coal index methodology to increase transparency when incorporating data from physical trading platforms.

The proposal follows feedback from market participants that incorporating physical trading platform data will be of value to Fastmarkets’ coking coal indices because such data are transparent and underpin standard terms and conditions.

Fastmarkets proposes to directly incorporate data on physical trading platform GlobalCOAL in its coking coal index calculations. Transaction data received via the GlobalCOAL trading platform will be entered into both the buy-side sub-index and sell-side sub-index, reflecting the balanced nature of ownership of the platform.

The data entered will also be subject to weighting of tonnages, built-in outlier mechanisms and editorial judgement to ensure a representative index at the end of the calculation assessment period.

Fastmarkets’ current approach for the incorporation of physical trading platform data consigns responsibility to approved market sources to evaluate whether the activities are representative of the tradable level of the open and competitive market. Sources are asked to submit data to Fastmarkets where information on physical trading platform GlobalCOAL could be included in market sources’ submissions, which Fastmarkets then includes in its index.

The proposed change will be applied to the following coking coal indices:
MB-COA-0003 Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT
MB-COA-0005 Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang
MB-COA-0004 Hard coking coal, fob DBCT
MB-COA-0002 Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang
MB-COA-0008 PCI low-vol, fob DBCT
MB-COA-0007 PCI low-vol, cfr Jingtang

The consultation period for these amendments starts from Monday December 5, 2022, and will end on Thursday January 5, 2023. The amendments will then take place, subject to market feedback, on Tuesday January 10, 2023.

To provide feedback on this proposal, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to these prices, please email pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Jane Fan/Paul Lim, re: Coking Coal Index Methodology.”

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

What to read next
Fastmarkets proposes to launch Nordic sawn timber export prices for selected European markets and grades, while discontinuing the PIX Sawn Timber FAS Finland indices. The PIX sawn timber FAS Finland indices have not been widely adopted by the industry and the new price assessments will offer more end-market-specific data for major European markets and will […]
To increase transparency, Fastmarkets has further clarified how it handles price movements during periods of low liquidity. Factors that Fastmarkets may consider during times of low liquidity include, but are not limited to: market fundamentals such as changes in inventory levels, shipments, operating rates and export volumes; relative fundamentals of similar commodities in the same […]
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for PIX Packaging GCC indices via an open consultation process between April 16 and May 14, 2025. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process. Full details of the prices covered by this consultation can be found here. No feedback […]
Fastmarkets is inviting feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for the PIX Forest Biomass Finland price indices, as part of its announced annual methodology review process. This consultation, which is open until June 12, 2025, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in compliance with the […]
The publication of the following price was delayed for 10 minutes: MB-ALU-0002 Alumina index, fob Australia, $/tonne This price is a part of the Fastmarkets Base Metals package. For more information or to provide feedback on the delayed publication of this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter […]
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the frequency of Taiwan base metals prices from biweekly to monthly, and the delivery timing for the tin 99.99% ingot premium from two weeks to four weeks.