Solution Overview

What is Intratec Primary Commodity Prices?

Primary Commodity Prices is an annual subscription providing monthly price assessments, historical data, and price forecasts for 220+ commodities across 7 industries and multiple locations worldwide.

The subscription is designed for professionals who need reliable price benchmarks for procurement, commercial pricing, investment analysis, and strategic planning. Data is updated monthly and accessible through Online Charts, Excel Add-In, Power BI, and a REST Web API, depending on the plan. Starting price is $29 USD per month per industry, billed annually.

How many commodities are covered?

Primary Commodity Prices covers 220+ commodities organized into 7 industries: Olefins & Derivatives, Polymers, Aromatics & Derivatives, Alcohols & Organic Acids, Inorganic Chemicals, Fertilizers & Gases, and Metals & Mining. Subscriptions are sold per industry — each subscription provides access to all commodities within the selected industry or industries.

How often is the price data updated?

All price data is updated monthly. The exact release day depends on the subscription plan: the 3rd business day for Advanced and Ultimate plans, the 5th business day for Pro, and the 8th business day for Starter.

Every plan receives the same assessments from the same monthly cycle — your plan determines when in the month you receive the release, not how often the data is produced.

When the underlying data is collected, and why an official source can lag its own reporting calendar, is explained in When is data collected, and what causes reporting lag? on our methodology site.

Are price forecasts included?

Price forecasts are available for selected commodities, covering a rolling 6-month forward period. Forecasts are included in Pro, Advanced, and Ultimate plans but are not available on the Starter plan.

Forecasts carry the same "Forecast" data status wherever they appear, so you can always tell a projected value from an assessed one at a glance. Commodity prices are subject to abrupt variations, so forecasts carry inherent uncertainty and should be used alongside other market intelligence rather than as a standalone reference.

How a forecast is produced, and what each data status label means, is set out in How are forecasts produced, in plain terms? and What do the Final, Preliminary, and Forecast labels mean? on our methodology site.

What types of prices are published?

Primary Commodity Prices publishes three types of price assessments, and your subscription shows you which type applies to every series you track:

• Transaction Prices — a monthly average price reflecting closed international trade, published where trade data is the primary input for that commodity.
• Contract Prices — long-term prices from multi-year supply agreements, published where contract structures are the dominant pricing mechanism for that commodity.
• Spot Prices — the price for immediate delivery, published where a liquid spot market exists for the commodity.

The price type for each assessment is indicated in the Data Legend displayed below the price chart, so you always know which kind of price you're viewing. Which approach applies to a given series, what qualifies as a trade-based price, and how a transaction price is actually calculated are set out in How is the approach chosen for each series?, What are trade-based prices?, and How is a transaction price calculated? on our methodology site.

Where does the price data come from?

Price data is sourced and processed by Intratec using a proprietary, computer-based pipeline, then turned into the monthly assessments included in your subscription. Specific data sources are considered trade secrets and are not disclosed on a per-commodity basis.

Which categories of source feed a given assessment, and which of the five approaches turns that data into a published price, is set out in Which categories of source feed the analysis? and Which five approaches turn data into prices? on our methodology site.

Is a free sample available before subscribing?

Free trials are not available, but several resources let you evaluate the solution in depth before subscribing:

• Full commodity sample — Complete pricing data for Diammonium Phosphate, with all features accessible, available at no cost.
• Data previews — One-year historical price series viewable as previews for every commodity covered.
• Methodology documentation — Publicly available documents covering data gathering, processing, modeling, and publication methods.
• Price type explanations — Detailed descriptions of each type of price assessment published, including how each is calculated.

These resources provide a thorough understanding of data quality, structure, and features before committing to a subscription.

How is this different from real-time price feeds?

Primary Commodity Prices publishes monthly price data based on closed international trade transactions, updated at the beginning of each month. This is fundamentally different from a real-time price feed:

• Monthly data reflects actual completed transactions over the course of a month, providing a reliable benchmark for strategic planning, procurement analysis, and investment decisions.
• Real-time feeds track live market activity, capturing intraday price movements as they happen.

Monthly price data is well-suited for evaluating transaction prices, assessing procurement performance, identifying price trends, and supporting commercial strategies. However, when used alone, it may not capture sharp price movements during periods of high volatility. It should not be used as a reference for real-time commodity prices or as an index for structuring supplier-consumer contracts unless combined with other price references.