01 Jul 2024 | 03:59 UTC

Platts discontinues 57% Fe Yandi Fines CFR Qingdao brand assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has discontinued publishing brand assessments for 57% Fe Yandi Fines CFR Qingdao, effective July 1, considering reduced spot market activity and declining production.

Platts has observed reduced spot trading volumes for 57% Fe Yandi Fines, with market feedback indicating declining utilization as a sinter feed. Spot market data published by Platts over January-December 2023 showed a reduction of around 64% in the number of 57% Fe Yandi trades year on year.

According to published reports by BHP, the producer of 57% Fe Yandi Fines, the share of the product as part of BHP's total iron ore output fell to 8% for the financial year 2023 ended June 30, down from around 15% for 2022 and 27% for 2021.

The discontinuation affects the following assessments:

Symbol Assessment description Unit of measurement
IOYFA00 Outright 57% Fe Yandi Fines CFR Qingdao $/dmt
IOYFB00 Floating 57% Fe Yandi Fines CFR Qingdao
IOYFC00 Brand Differential 57% Fe Yandi Fines CFR Qingdao
IOYFA03 Monthly average for Outright 57% Fe Yandi Fines CFR Qingdao
IOYFB03 Monthly average for Floating 57% Fe Yandi Fines CFR Qingdao
IOYFC03 Monthly average for Brand Differential 57% Fe Yandi Fines CFR Qingdao

Platts first proposed to discontinue the brand assessments Jan. 2, in a subscriber note available here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/010224-platts-proposes-to-discontinue-57-fe-yandi-fines-cfr-qingdao-brand-assessments

The decision to implement the proposed discontinuation was communicated in a subscriber note published April 1: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/040124-platts-to-discontinue-57-fe-yandi-fines-cfr-qingdao-brand-assessments

Following the discontinuation, any 57% Fe Yandi Fines information observed in the seaborne spot market will continue to be normalized and reflected in the Platts Iron Ore Fines 58% Fe CFR China assessment.

Full details of the Platts iron ore specifications can be found here: /content/dam/spglobal/ci/en/documents/platts/en/our-methodology/methodology-specifications/Global_Iron_Ore.pdf.

Please submit any questions or comments to IODEX@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if they are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make those not marked as confidential available to the public upon request.