ICE Announces Introduction of Cleared Iron Ore Swap
By Intercontinentalexchange, PRNEWednesday, November 18, 2009
SINGAPORE, November 20 - IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global
regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC)
markets, today announced the introduction of an ICE OTC cleared iron ore
contract based on the well-regarded Platts Iron Ore Index. The ICE Platts
Iron Ore Swap 62% Fe (metallic iron) contract will be available for clearing
on ICE Clear U.S. beginning December 2, 2009.
(Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090727/CL51999LOGO )
Iron ore is the primary raw material used in the production of steel -
and the world's second largest commodity by value, after crude oil. Because
iron ore has historically traded under long-term fixed price contracts
between steel mills and mining companies, iron ore is the world's largest
commodity without a significant derivatives market.
"As a major input to steel production, iron ore is essential to the
global economy and is one of the largest commodities today without a fully
developed derivatives market," said Mike Davis, Director of Market
Development, ICE Futures Europe. "We have designed the contract to meet the
requirements of participants in the iron ore and steel industries so that
they are able to manage price risks around steel input costs, just as they
have long been able to do with other factors of production such as oil and
coal."
Iron ore is a mineral with metallic iron (Fe) content. High grade iron
ore contains at least 60% Fe content, and the industry has adopted the 62% Fe
specification as a standard benchmark for derivative transactions. The ICE
Iron Ore Swap is based upon the most commonly traded grade of iron ore,
referencing 62% Fe content delivered by sea to China. The contract will be
cash settled against a daily index price published in Platts Metals Alert
(PMA) under the heading 'IODEX: Iron Ore fines 62% Fe CFR North China'.
Editors Note
Platts has been assessing prices in the metals markets for more than 35
years, drawing on the tradition of its parent company, The McGraw-Hill
Companies, which has covered the metals markets for over 75 years. Platts saw
the fast-paced evolution of iron ore from an annual to spot market and was
the first publisher to begin assessing pricing on a daily basis in June 2008.
Since then, Platts has rapidly expanded its offerings for the iron ore
market, which now include flat price assessments for 62% Fe and 63.5/63% Fe
grades, high-grade 65% and a low-grade 58% Fe grade, as well as a daily 1%
per Fe content differential for iron ore fines 60-63.5% to help clarify the
normalization process. Platts also publishes daily freight netbacks based on
the most liquid routes to five basis origins. A forward curve assessing the
daily bid/offer and trade values in the over the counter swaps market for
iron ore has also been recently introduced. For more information on the iron
ore price assessments and methodology, see
www.platts.com/IM.Platts.Content/MethodologyReferences/MethodologySpecs/ironore.pdf.
About IntercontinentalExchange
IntercontinentalExchange(R) (NYSE: ICE) operates leading regulated
exchanges, trading platforms and clearing houses serving the global markets
for agricultural, credit, currency, emissions, energy and equity index
markets. ICE Futures Europe(R) hosts trade in half of the world's crude and
refined oil futures. ICE Futures U.S.(R) and ICE Futures Canada(R) list
agricultural, currency and Russell Index markets. ICE(R) offers trade
execution and processing for the credit derivatives markets through
Creditex(R) and ICE Link(TM), respectively, and CDS clearing through ICE
Trust(TM). A component of the Russell 1000(R) and S&P 500 indexes, ICE serves
customers in more than 50 countries and is headquartered in Atlanta, with
offices in New York, London, Chicago, Winnipeg, Calgary, Houston and
Singapore. www.theice.com
The following are trademarks of IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. and/or its
affiliated companies: IntercontinentalExchange, IntercontinentalExchange &
Design, ICE, ICE and block design, ICE Futures Canada, ICE Futures Europe,
ICE Futures U.S., ICE Trust, ICE Clear Europe, ICE Clear U.S., ICE Clear
Canada, The Clearing Corporation, U.S. Dollar Index, ICE Link and Creditex.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more
information regarding registered trademarks owned by
IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. and/or its affiliated companies, see
https://www.theice.com/terms.jhtml
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 - Statements in this press release regarding
IntercontinentalExchange's business that are not historical facts are
"forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a
discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see
ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not
limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2008, as filed with the SEC on February 11, 2009.
Kelly Loeffler, VP, Investor Relations & Corp. Communications, +1-770-857-4726, kelly.loeffler at theice.com, or Sarah Stashak, Director, Investor & Public Relations, +1-770-857-0340, sarah.stashak at theice.com, both of IntercontinentalExchange
Tags: IntercontinentalExchange, Singapore, United Kingdom