FAQ

What is the PIX Index?

The PIX indices are benchmark price indices for various grades of pulp, paper, paperboard as well as recovered paper and bioenergy/wood. They measure the weekly/monthly average market price of the grades in question.

What PIX Indices are there and when were they launched?

Currently Fastmarkets FOEX is publishing PIX indices for the following pulp, paper, paperboard, bioenergy and wood grades:

Pulp: NBSK, BHKP (Europe & China)
Paper: LWC, CWF, A4 B-copy, Newsprint (Europe)
Packaging: Brown Kraftliner, White-top Kraftliner, Testliner 2 & 3 and RB-Fluting (Europe); Testliner, Fluting (GCC, monthly)
Recovered Paper: OCC 1.04, ONP/OMG 1.11 (Europe); SOP, Multiprint (Europe, monthly); OCC 1.04, ONP/OMG 1.11, Mixed 1.02 (Germany, monthly)
Wood Biomass for Energy: Finland (monthly)
Sawn timber exports: Finland (monthly)

PIX Index launch dates can be found here.

Which time period do the PIX indices represent?

The weekly PIX indices are calculated from prices for real sales traded during the reporting week, published on Friday or the following Tuesday. The prices are reported for regular business for delivery during the current or, at the latest, the following month. The monthly indices are based on data from the previous month or the month prior to the previous one, depending on the index.

When and where are the PIX indices published?

The PIX indices are published as follows:

Weekly PIX Europe pulp and paper indices: Tuesdays at 12 noon Helsinki time (following working day if a public holiday)
Weekly PIX China pulp indices: Fridays at 10 AM Helsinki time (please see exceptions in the daily PIX calendar below)
Monthly PIX Packaging GCC: on the 1st Tuesday of the following month (following working day if a public holiday)
Monthly PIX Recovered Paper: on the 2nd Tuesday of the following month (following working day if a public holiday)
Monthly bioenergy and wood indices on predefined Tuesdays (following working day if a public holiday): 2nd: PIX Forest Biomass Finland, 4th: PIX Sawn Timber FAS Finland

Daily PIX calendar can be found here.

How are the PIX indices calculated?

Fastmarkets FOEX receives real trade information from a large number of participants. PIX indices cover specific regions, currently Europe and China.

Brief specifications for other PIX indices can be found on product specific sites listed on left hand side column.

Latest PIX methodologies and policies can be found here.

How is the monthly average of a PIX index calculated?

The monthly average of any of the PIX indices is calculated by Fastmarkets FOEX as a straight arithmetic average from the weekly PIX index values of the month in question. The average value is published together with the last weekly index value (included in the monthly average). Monthly averages are used in e.g. price risk hedging instruments as the reference price.

How can PIX indices be used?

Apart from monitoring price development, the Fastmarkets FOEX PIX indices are used by financial institutions as benchmark prices in e.g. swap deals and other financial hedging instruments against product price risks. In addition to the use in hedging tools, the PIX indices can also be used as

a) reference prices in normal bilateral sales/purchase contracts
b) reference prices in internal sales/purchase transactions

PIX is a registered trade-mark owned by FOEX Indexes Ltd. Thus the use of the PIX indices for any commercial purposes, including internal price agreements, is allowed only with permission from Fastmarkets FOEX. If you are interested in any kind of commercial use of our indices, please contact us for further information. For contact details, see here.

How reliable is PIX

The high reliability of PIX is achieved through a large number of contributors, and by the fact that Fastmarkets FOEX is an independent organization with no own interest in the price level. The method of index calculation is fixed.

Who are contributors to PIX?

The contributors are pulp, paper, paperboard, recovered papers, bioenergy and sawn timber suppliers and buyers as well as agents and trading houses. In order to guarantee anonymity, the identities of the contributing parties are not disclosed.