The benchmarks
These physical market benchmarks serve as the settlement index for Euronext’s upcoming EU dairy futures. Both EU Butter and SMP have more than five years of price history, established benchmarks with a proven track record. Prices are created from transaction data submitted by verified market participants and published every Wednesday.
Euronext Dairy Futures
Want to learn more about the futures contracts themselves? Euronext is launching EU Butter and SMP futures based on these VPI benchmarks.
What is the Vesper Price Index?
How VPI Benchmarks Are Created
Collect
Weekly Mon-Wed
- Transaction prices from verified buyers, sellers, traders, brokers
- Contributor Code of Conduct required
- Actual transactions or firm price indications from that week
Quality control
Validation & outliers
- Input validated, currency and metrics standardized
- Flags statistical outliers using IQR methodology
- Proof of contract can be requested
Calculate
Statistical method
- Validated input passed to Compass FT for calculation
- Manipulation-resistant statistical method
- Minimum 5 inputs required, and input from both buyers and sellers (otherwise prior week's price applies)
Publish
Wed 18:00 CET
- Published to Euronext, Bloomberg, Reuters
- Accessible via Vesper platform and website
- Reflects only transactions from that calendar week
- Input from buyers, sellers, traders, brokers
- 5+ years price history
- Externally administered by Compass FT
- Manipulation-resistant methodology
How benchmarks are calculated
Governance and compliance framework
What this means for the market
Independent price discovery for European dairy, validated at the highest level.
Prices that reflect this week
VPI benchmarks are published the same week as data collection. You’re working with prices that reflect current market conditions, not where the market was weeks ago.
Independent price discovery
Better hedging, less basis risk
Become a data contributor
VPI benchmarks are built from transaction data submitted by verified market participants. We’re always looking to expand our contributor network, whether you’re a buyer, seller, trader, or broker active in EU dairy markets.
Contributing is open to everyone, not just Vesper customers. Your data helps create more robust, representative benchmarks for the entire market.
Why contribute?
- Help build a more transparent market for European dairy
- Reduce basis risk in hedging strategies with benchmarks that reflect physical market conditions
- Shape the market benchmark used for regulated futures
- All data is anonymized. Your submissions are never disclosed
How it works
Verification that you're an active market participant
Sign the Contributor Code of Conduct
We confirm the exact specs you can contribute for
Receive weekly prompts to submit your data
Frequently asked questions
What is Vesper's role in the Euronext dairy futures?
How is the VPI calculated?
What is the VPI Code of Conduct?
There are two key governance documents that underpin VPI benchmark integrity:
The Contributor Code of Conduct outlines the requirements for anyone providing price input into VPI benchmarks. It covers data quality expectations, submission procedures, and the steps taken when outliers are flagged for review. Ensuring all contributions reflect genuine market activity from verified participants.
The VPI Code of Conduct is the governance and compliance framework between Vesper and Compass FT, our benchmark administrator. It defines the shared responsibilities and procedures that ensure all VPI publications meet EU Benchmark Regulation (BMR) standards for use as underlying indices.
Who administers the VPI for these futures?
When are the benchmarks published?
The EU Butter and SMP benchmarks are published every Wednesday at 18:00 CET. Data is collected earlier in the week, validated, and then Compass Financial Technologies calculates and publishes the benchmark. Prices are distributed via Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Vesper and Compass FT websites. If there are fewer than 5 valid inputs, the previous week’s price is carried forward to ensure continuity.
What if I think a benchmark price is wrong?
The VPI doesn’t intend to publish the lowest or highest price in the market. Vesper is an independent benchmark facilitator that uses input from verified market participants to create benchmarks. Using our statistical methodology, we arrive at a market-representative benchmark — individual deals can be higher or lower than the VPI value, especially in volatile markets. If you have any questions or concerns about a specific benchmark price, please contact us at support@vespertool.com.