Xstrata, Tohoku set annual coal contract price down 14 pct-sources
(Minews) - Commodities trader and mining group Glencore Xstrata Plc and Tohoku Electric Power Co have settled the first Japanese annual Australian thermal-coal import contract at $81.80 per tonne, sources said on Monday.
The price set for the fiscal year beginning April 1 is 14 percent lower than a year earlier.
Australia is by far the biggest supplier to Japan, accounting for about 73 percent of Japan's thermal coal imports last year. The benchmark price level will likely be followed by other Japanese utilities, as Tohoku is regarded as the lead negotiator.
A Tohoku spokesman said it and Xstrata had reached an agreement, but declined to comment on the price or other details of the contract.
Publish date : Tuesday 1 April 2014 20:11
Story Code: 6016
