Platts Data Selected as Basis for CME's U.S. Midwest Aluminum Swap Futures

NEW YORK, April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Platts' aluminum price assessments have been selected as the sole settlement basis for CME Group's newly launched Aluminum MW U.S. Transaction Premium Platts (25MT) Swap Futures contract. Platts is a leading global energy, metals and petrochemicals information provider and a top publisher of global benchmark reference prices.

"As a leading provider of aluminum price benchmarks for several decades, we're pleased to have exchanges such as CME Group recognize the reputation we've won in the marketplace and the role we play in price discovery by bringing greater transparency to the physical markets," said Gerald Bueshel, Platts director of global licensing.

With today's launch, CME Group settles and clears a total of 470 contracts* based on physical price assessments published by Platts.

The new aluminum swap futures contract, first announced by CME Group on April 11, 2012, (http://cmegroup.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=3259&pagetemplate=article), will be based on the Platts Metals Week (MW) U.S. Aluminum Transaction Price assessments, which date back to 1984. The daily Platts assessment reflects 99.7% high-grade aluminum for prompt delivery to the U.S. Midwest (arrival within 30 days) denoting a premium or discount to the underlying global in-warehouse price. Specifically, the daily premium or discount reflects the Platts end-of-day assessment of the most-widely available premium or discount for delivery to a typical-freight consumer in a broad Midwest region.

Platts has covered news and pricing in the global aluminum markets for more than four decades and started its suite of U.S. aluminum price assessments in 1972. In addition to its aluminum assessments, Platts also publishes daily price references for the upstream raw input, alumina, available since August 2010.

Platts, as an independent publishing firm, has no affiliation with or vested interest in the production or actual sales of aluminum. Platts' role is to facilitate the price discovery process by collecting information consistent with its published quality consistency guidelines from buyers, sellers, brokers and traders and reporting that information in a transparent way to its subscribers and the marketplace.

Full details of the robust methodology employed in Platts' aluminum price assessments are available on the Platts website at www.platts.com.  Platts' assessment methodology for metals was developed in consultation with a cross section of key industry principals and draws upon Platts' 100 years of experience in benchmark price reporting in energy and other commodities.

Platts' news and price reporting in metals spans more than 40 years, drawing on the tradition of its parent company, The McGraw-Hill Companies, which began covering metals in 1930. 

The Platts Metals Week (MW) U.S. Aluminum Transaction Price assessments are published daily in such publications and online services as Platts Metals Week and Platts Metals Alert.

For more information about metals, visit the Platts website.

*Platts does not sponsor, endorse, promote or sell CME contracts.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals and metals information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, and shipping markets.  A division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies: McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two public companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

SOURCE Platts