Platts Proposes its U.S. Oil Price Assessments Reflect 2:30 p.m. ET Value, Beginning July 1

LONDON and HOUSTON, March 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Platts, the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets, today proposed that its all-day U.S. price assessment processes in oil, petroleum-related products and shipping reflect a market value at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), a change from the current 3:15 p.m. ET.

Platts is inviting comment by April 15, 2016, with a view to implementation of the proposal on July 1, 2016. Comments may be sent to [email protected]. The proposal follows a formal market consultation from January 26, 2016 to February 21, 2016. 

Jonty Rushforth, Platts editorial director of oil and shipping pricing, said: "During our market consultation, we received widespread support for a move to an earlier closing time stamp of 2:30 p.m. ET, which we believe will make our U.S. oil assessments even more robust and representative of market value.  The greater liquidity seen at the earlier period should mean greater transparency and price discovery in these key markets. The changes themselves do not affect the rest of the Platts Market-On-Close (MOC) price assessment process, which still reflects transparent bids, offers and trades in our final assessments."

Richard Swann, Platts editorial director of Americas oil markets, said: "The lifting of restrictions on U.S. oil exports has market participants increasingly focused on cross-Atlantic oil shipments and an earlier closing time could better facilitate market data capture on both sides of the Atlantic."

Platts has also proposed that, beginning July 1, the prevailing futures settlement prices become the underlying futures inputs into its price assessment processes in crude oil, gasoline and middle distillates. Currently, Platts utilizes its own assessment of a futures value at 3:15 p.m. as an input.

All other aspects of Platts' price assessment methodology for oil, petroleum-related products and shipping remain unchanged. For details of the Platts Market-On-Close price assessment processes, see the methodology and specifications guidelines. For more information on today's announced changes that take effect in July, see the Platts subscriber note and the Platts video.  

For more information on oil, visit www.platts.com.

Contact
Americas: Kathleen Tanzy, + 1 917 331 4607, [email protected]

About Platts: Platts is the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over 150 countries look to Platts' expertise in news, pricing and analytics to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets and help them make better informed trading and business decisions. Founded in 1909, Platts' coverage includes oil and gas, power, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping. A division of McGraw Hill Financial, Platts is headquartered in London and employs over 1,000 people in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI) is a leading financial intelligence company providing the global capital and commodity markets with independent benchmarks, credit ratings, portfolio and enterprise risk solutions, and analytics. The Company's iconic brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ and SNL, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL and J.D. Power. The Company has approximately 20,000 employees in 31 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

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