Japanese activity in the spot market is likely to rise in the July- September quarter amid depressed spot prices and a push for spot index-linked deals by key coking coal producer BHP Billiton. Buyers in Japan that typically negotiate prices on a quarterly basis and total volumes on an annual basis could increase their demand for spot cargoes to around 15pc of total demand. Japanese steelmakers previously only bought around 5-10pc of their coking coal requirements on a spot basis, market participants estimate.
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