Australian hard coking coal shippers are set to start next round contract price talks with Japanese steel mills early next month, with a switch from a quarterly to a monthly settlement regime - canvassed by BHP Billiton last year - said to be back on the agenda as Queensland flood impact lingers. With hard coking coal spot offers reportedly topping the 400 dollars/t FOB mark this week as Queensland shipments remain well below capacity, the ruling contract 'benchmark' of 225 dollars/t FOB for the January-March quarter is obviously under strong upward pressure.
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