Japan Steels, Major Miners to Talk Again for Iron Ore Price in January

Japanese major steel makers including Nippon Steel and JFE Steel finished the first price negotiation of iron ore with major miners for fiscal 2008 shipment starting April 2008 last week. They apparently failed to step forward to the agreement though the miners indicated substantial hike under worldwide tight supply. They will negotiate again in January. Japanese steels negotiated with Vale and Rio Tinto after the pre-talk by early December. The steels will talk with BHP Billiton and with Vale and Rio Tinto again in late January. Japanese steel makers also recognize the tight supply and could accept certain hike. However, they seek moderate price change based on long term relationship. The miners focus on wider gap between annual contract price and spot market price indicating potential wide hike. Japanese steels also finished the price talk for coking coal in the year. They could face another severe price hike pressure by suppliers of iron making raw materials.