Metals & Mining Theme, Non-Ferrous
December 05, 2025
Platts to launch US Aluminum Midwest Premium forward curve Jan. 2
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, will launch a daily forward curve reflecting assessments of P1020 aluminum financial derivatives settling against the Platts Aluminum P1020 Transaction Premium delivered US Midwest benchmark (MMAKE00), effective Jan. 2, 2026.
New derivative assessments for Months 1-5
Platts will publish new daily derivative assessments for Month 1, Month 2, Month 3, Month 4 and Month 5, and related monthly averages. Platts will also amend and rename the existing six-month premium assessment (MMANJ04) to reflect a daily derivative assessment for Month 6, from the current weekly (Thursday) cadence.
Changes to existing Month 6 assessment
- Frequency: The six-month premium assessment will be amended to a daily assessment from a weekly Thursday assessment
- Description: It will be renamed to Aluminum Midwest Premium Forward Curve (Month 6) from Aluminum six-month P1020 Ingot (Premium)
- The quantity specification will reflect a standard lot size of 25 mt
The US Midwest Premium derivatives assessments will be based on bids, offers or trades seen during the Platts Market on Close assessment process. In the absence of any bids, offers or trades in the MOC, information from derivative exchanges, brokers or heard in over-the-counter markets may be taken into consideration.
Full specifications of the Midwest Premium forward curve assessments will be as follows:
| Assessments | Symbols Daily (c/lb) | Symbols Monthly Average (c/lb) | Frequency | Quality | Dimensions | Lot size | Location | Timing | UoM | Payment terms |
| Aluminum Midwest Premium Forward Curve (Months 1-6) | MAFPA00 (Month 1) MAFPB00 (Month 2) MAFPC00 (Month 3) MAFPD00 (Month 4) MAFPE00 (Month 5) MMANJ04 (Month 6) | MAFPA03 (Month 1) MAFPB03 (Month 2) MAFPC03 (Month 3) MAFPD03 (Month 4) MAFPE03 (Month 5) MAFPF03 (Month 6) | Daily | 99.7% P1020A | Ingot, low-profile sow or T-bars | 25 mt | US Midwest | 1-6 months forward | c/ lb | Not specified |
Price information reflecting forward curve bids, offers and trades will be reported in real-time throughout the day on Platts electronic information service, Platts Metals Alert (PMA), along with other relevant market information.
The forward premium assessments for Month 1, Month 2 and Month 3, as well as related monthly averages and $/mt conversions, will appear in Metals Daily and Metals Week, on the PMA413 and MTL413 fixed pages. Forward premium assessments for all assessment months (Months 1-6) and related monthly averages and $/mt conversions will appear in the Platts pricing database, as well as Platts Risk Market Data packages.
The assessments will follow the Platts US holiday calendar and reflect a 4 pm US ET timestamp.
The new assessments were previously proposed in a subscriber note published Nov. 20, available here.
Please send questions and comments to metalsamericas@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.
For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.