Thursday, 13 September 2012

BHP silent on report of 24 pct cut in coking coal prices to Japan

Thu Sep 13, 2012
MELBOURNE, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Top global coking coal exporter BHP Billiton declined on Thursday to comment on a report that it has agreed to a 24 percent cut in coking coal prices to Japanese steelmakers for October to December.

The reported 24 percent cut matches the steep fall in spot coking coal prices, which have slumped to around $165 a tonne for the key steel-making fuel, amid an unexpected slowdown in demand from China and weaker steel output around the region.

Japan's Nikkei reported on Wednesday that Japanese steelmakers and BHP had agreed to set prices at $170 a tonne for the December quarter, which the newspaper said was the lowest level since the quarterly pricing system was adopted two years ago.

BHP said it never comments on what it called price speculation.

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