Meaning
Market valuation procedures gather non-binding bid and ask prices from active commercial market participants to establish fair value during benchmark disruptions. When public price indexes cease publication, dealer quotations provide the foundation for calculating settlement values in off-market supply agreements and derivative contracts. Calculation agents solicit price assessments from designated market making banks or major commodity traders following contractually agreed polling protocols.
This polling framework applies exclusively to emergency settlement calculations, leaving standard public index reporting rules unaffected during normal market operations.
Valuation Sourcing
Polling protocols specify the precise number of market participants required to establish an acceptable price average. Relying on dealer quotations requires discarding the highest and lowest submitted prices to prevent individual market participant manipulation. Contract administrative agents verify that quoting firms maintain active commercial operations in the specific physical or financial market.
The resulting mathematical average serves as the enforceable settlement price for the affected transaction period.
Market Fallback
Agreement clauses specify dealer polling as a secondary pricing mechanism when primary screen prices are unavailable. Supply contracts maintain continuous billing operations by transitioning to dealer surveys during unexpected exchange outages.
Liquidity Verification
Agents examine whether submitted dealer prices reflect actionable trading interest rather than nominal balance sheet estimates. Counterparties accept the calculated quote average to finalize monthly contract adjustments.