Fastmarkets successfully completes IOSCO assurance review of 28 metals benchmarks

LONDON, Sept. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fastmarkets, a leading source of price data for global commodity markets, is delighted to announce the successful completion of an independent assurance review of 28 key metals benchmarks.

The external review carried out by professional services firm BDO confirmed that Fastmarkets' governance and controls framework, policies and editorial practices align with the standards defined by the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO) within the Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs). 

The review process is comprehensive, examining all relevant documentation and processes to ensure their quality, integrity and adherence to stated methodologies. This year the review process was conducted fully remotely due to coronavirus-related restrictions, with testing and checks done over three months and covering a pricing period of up to 12 months.

"We have invested extensive resources to ensure our alignment with the IOSCO Principles for PRAs and added 11 prices to the scope of this year's review despite a challenging macro-economic environment," Fastmarkets CEO Raju Daswani said. "We remain committed to grow our pool of audited prices and give our users the highest possible level of confidence in the reliability of our benchmarks."

As per guidance by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), annual assurance reviews by an independent external auditor are sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) for commodity benchmarks (paragraph 18 of Annex II).

This year's review covered 28 benchmarks from our list of prices in the aluminium, alumina, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, iron ore, flat steel and steel scrap markets. It involved 11 new prices that received the Type 1 IOSCO accreditation, including:

• Aluminium P1020A premium, US Midwest delivered
• Alumina index adjustment to fob Australia index, Brazil
• Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam
• Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, cif China
• Manganese ore index 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth
• Iron ore 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao
• Northern Europe HRC Index
• Steel scrap No1 busheling, index, delivered Midwest mill
• Steel scrap shredded, index, delivered Midwest mill
• Steel scrap No1 heavy melt, index, delivered Midwest mill
• Steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) US material import, cfr main port Taiwan

"We are excited to expand the number of prices successfully audited to be in line with IOSCO's stringent principles," said Alex Harrison, Fastmarkets' editorial director, metals & mining. "This shows our commitment to excellence in price methodology across markets and notably in the battery raw materials markets, which are of strategic interest across the globe and likely to see a level of dynamism that will place a premium on trusted methodologies."

To see the full list of prices and obtain a copy of the independent assurance report, please click here.

Fastmarkets has invested significantly in resources and technology to ensure its price-assessment process aligns with IOSCO principles. View details here.

To view Fastmarkets Metals & Mining price methodology/specifications, please click here.

For further inquiries, please contact Katharine Kellar at [email protected].

ABOUT FASTMARKETS

Fastmarkets is a leading price reporting, analytics and events organization for the global commodity markets, including metals, mining, forest products and agriculture. Fastmarkets' core activity in pricing drives transactions in commodities markets around the world and is complemented by news, industry data, analysis, conferences and insight services. Fastmarkets includes brands such as Fastmarkets MB, Fastmarkets AMM (previously known as Metal Bulletin and American Metal Market respectively), Fastmarkets RISI, Fastmarkets FOEX and Fastmarkets AgriCensus. Its team of over 400 people are located in 17 global offices including London, Boston, New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Brussels, São Paulo and Helsinki. Fastmarkets is part of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC (LSE:ERM), a listed company on the London Stock Exchange. Euromoney is a leading international business-to-business information group focused primarily on the global commodities, banking and asset management markets.

SOURCE Fastmarkets