The client is a proprietary trading firm and market maker for various exchange-listed financial instruments, trades listed derivatives, cash equities, exchange-traded funds, bonds and foreign exchange. As the firm expanded, it decided to exploit opportunities in other commodity markets, and opened a desk specializing in iron ore derivatives. To assist its traders in day-to-day operations, the firm decided to source for a trusted provider which would be able to supply up-to-date market information and insights to help its traders navigate the volatile iron ore market.
The company subscribed to Platts Metals Alert, to leverage the latest news and market insights into the physical iron ore market - a key price determinant for the derivatives it traded in. In particular, the firm was interested in Platts Metals Alert’s “heards” feature, which provides confirmed trades, firm bids and offers, tender announcements and transactional activity heard across the market. The firm also subscribed to Platts Market Data - Metals to provide them with real-time price assessments into physical iron ore, captured in a format which could be fed directly into the company’s trading systems.
Platts pricing benchmarks and analysis were used to inform the company’s proprietary trading system on a real-time basis, instead of waiting for close-of-market reporting. Traders could follow market activity based on reported bids, offers and trades, and regularly accessed expert commentary on global market fundamentals such as raw steel production, imports, exports, inventories and output from around the world. With these insights, the iron ore desk was able to make trading decisions with lower risk and greater confidence.
If you would like to find out more, please contact: Elisha Low, Marketing Manager, Asia Elisha.Low@spglobal.com
