Market insiders have revealed that Japan and China have reached agreement on a new steam coal contract price for the period from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012, settled at $145.75/mt FOB, for a total annual volume of purchases by Japan equal to 680,000 mt. The price is $16/mt higher than the annual contract price inked by Japan and Australia.
The two parties have also signed a five-year coal supply agreement which has settled the minimum volume of coal that China will supply to Japan.
The agreement has not yet been confirmed by either side. However, market insiders state that an announcement is likely to be made soon.