2011-3-2 8:12:04      according to "Japanese Economic News" reported that, recently, the Australian mining giant BHP Billiton informed the Japanese steel companies, to be started in April the price of raw coal the implementation of monthly pricing, with some varieties of raw coal price current price of coal by ship high-quality raw materials pricing.

Australian imports from Japan in 2009 43.7 million tons of raw coal, accounting for imports of iron and steel enterprises at 77%. Japan needs a large blast of high quality raw coal is BHP Billiton's strong suit. To 2009, the Japanese steel producers with major mining companies on the raw coal, iron ore pricing is year on year in 2010, was changed to quarterly pricing. Subsequently, the iron and steel production enterprises and enterprises of automobile steel steel consumption by the annual contract prices to half a year contract.

BHP Billiton on the request of President Lin Tian Ying Japan Iron and Steel Union expressed strong governance can not be accepted. At the same time as the president of JFE Steel Corporation, Lin Tian said the frequent fluctuations in raw material prices, steel prices will be unstable and unpredictable corporate earnings; that cars and other steel users will not accept a contract steel prices reduced again to cycle.

Analysts believe that BHP Billiton's raw coal market share of 30% in the price with the Japanese steel companies have an absolute advantage in the negotiations, the Japanese steel companies negotiating situation is very grim. Be achieved if the new pricing, steel prices may rise, while the Brazilian mining giant CVRD may also make the same request.