Fastmarkets cobalt contract to launch at CME Group

EUROMONEY INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR PLC ("Euromoney")

New Fastmarkets - settled cobalt contract to launch at CME Group

25 November 2020

Euromoney Institutional Investors PLC ("Euromoney"), the international B2B information services provider of essential information to global and specialist markets, announces a contract win for Fastmarkets, the industry-leading cross-commodity price reporting agency ("PRA").

Fastmarkets, the industry-leading cross-commodity PRA, announced on Thursday, November 19, 2020 that CME Group has chosen Fastmarkets as the PRA for its new cash-settled cobalt futures contract, which will launch on December 14, pending regulatory review. The new contract will be listed on and subject to the rules of COMEX and settled against the benchmark daily standard-grade cobalt price assessed by Fastmarkets.

Cobalt is a critical building block of the emerging new energy economy and a principal material for the fast-growing electric vehicle market. Cobalt prices have recovered from three-year lows seen in 2019 but are significantly below the 10-year highs seen in 2018. There is continuing uncertainty in the cobalt market: Companies are researching various competing battery technologies while some market participants are stockpiling or signing multi-year cobalt contracts to secure supply. The growing size of the cobalt market, alongside volatility in prices, underscores the need for and value of a hedging mechanism.

CME Group will offer this hedging mechanism settled against the following Fastmarkets price:

Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb

• Fastmarkets price code: MB-CO-0005

• Bloomberg Ticker: MB071071

The final settlement price will be an arithmetic average of the daily Fastmarkets standard-grade cobalt (midpoint) price.

The launch of the contract builds on growing participation in OTC trades, which are cash-settled against Fastmarkets' cobalt price assessments. Key market participants have endorsed the exchange's partnership with Fastmarkets as a critical step in the evolution of risk management solutions for the cobalt market.

Young-Jin Chang, Managing Director and Global Head of Metal Products at CME Group, said:

"As zero-emission policies continue to grow globally, clients are looking for more effective ways to manage the price risk associated with electric transportation. This new product will also provide a forward curve for the cobalt market, creating more transparency around a key metal in the green economy."

Fastmarkets has been the standard-bearer for cobalt prices - giving market participants the confidence to make critical financial decisions based on price. Fastmarkets has invested significantly in resources and technology to ensure its price-assessment process aligns with IOSCO principles. The Fastmarkets daily standard-grade cobalt price was validated over a 12-month period in September 2019. It then received a 12-month re-validation in September 2020.

Fastmarkets CEO Raju Daswani said:

 "Cobalt is a prime candidate for risk management. It is central to the emerging new energy economy but susceptible to price swings as different battery chemical strategies unfold. Given the expected dynamism, market participants require a price that is transparent, auditable and reflective of market events. Fastmarkets' standard-grade price assessment meets all those requirements, giving a powerful tool to help market participants manage risk along the entire cobalt supply chain."

To view Fastmarkets Metals & Mining price methodology/specifications, please click here.

For more information on CME Group's new Cobalt futures, please visit: www.cmegroup.com/cobalt

For further inquiries, please contact Katharine Kellar at [email protected]

For further information, please contact:

Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC

Wendy Pallot, Chief Financial Officer: +44 (0)20 7779 8866; [email protected]

Jo Britten, Investor Relations: +44 (0)775 392 8523; [email protected]

FTI Consulting

Charles Palmer / Jamie Ricketts / Jamille Smith: +44 20 3727 1000; [email protected]

About Euromoney

Euromoney is a global information business providing essential B2B information to international and specialist markets. Euromoney provides price discovery, market intelligence and events across our segments. Euromoney is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250 share index. (www.euromoneyplc.com)

About Fastmarkets

Fastmarkets is a leading price reporting, analytics and events organization for the global commodity markets, including metals, mining, forest products and agriculture. Fastmarkets' core activity in pricing drives transactions in commodities markets around the world and is complemented by news, industry data, analysis, conferences and insight services. Fastmarkets includes brands such as Fastmarkets MB, Fastmarkets AMM (previously known as Metal Bulletin and American Metal Market respectively), Fastmarkets RISI, Fastmarkets FOEX and Fastmarkets AgriCensus. Its team of over 400 people are located in 15 global offices including London, Boston, New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Brussels, São Paulo and Helsinki. Fastmarkets is part of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC (LSE:ERM), a listed company on the London Stock Exchange. Euromoney is a leading international business-to-business information group focused primarily on the global commodities, banking and asset management markets.