Global miner Glencore Plc and Japan's Tohoku Electric Power agreed on a price of $68.75/t for supplies of thermal coal from Australia for the year through March 2021, the Nikkei business daily reported on May 16.
The Glencore-Tohoku price, which serves as an industry benchmark for supplies of seaborne thermal coal in Asia, was 27% lower than a price agreed a year earlier.
The sharp decline from a year earlier came as the coronavirus pandemic choked off global industry activity, slashing demand for thermal coal.
The weekly index for cargoes of higher-rank thermal coal from Australia's Newcastle Port, mainly destined for Japan, South Korea and China, dropped to $52.79/t in the week to April 26, lowest since June 2016, and down 24% from this year's peak of $69.59/t in mid-January.
Japan is one of the world's biggest importers of thermal coal, taking about 111 million tonnes last year. Australia supplied nearly 70% of those imports, according to customs data from Japan's Ministry of Finance.
(Writing by Becky Du Editing by Harry Huo)
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