Japanese news sources reported on March 5 that major Japanese steelmakers have agreed on a 55 percent increase in the price of coking coal to be supplied by Australian mining giant and world's largest coking coal exporter BHP Billiton in the April-June quarter.

The price for the period in question will be $200/mt, lower than the $240/mt level sought by BHP but marking a strong hike compared to last year's contract price of $130/mt, which will stay valid until the end of March.

Meanwhile, international news sources said that Japan's second largest steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc. has confirmed the deal on the price of the key raw material for steelmaking, while the country's leading steelmaker Nippon Steel has not made any statement on the issue. JFE reportedly said that the price is not a benchmark price and that the negotiations will restart after July.