Glencore, Tohoku Electric set coal contract price at $94.75 per tonne

TOKYO, Apr 02 (Reuters): Global miner Glencore and Japan's Tohoku Electric Power agreed on a price of $94.75 per tonne for supplies of thermal coal from Australia for the year through March 2020, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The price, which serves as an industry benchmark for supplies of seaborne thermal coal in Asia, was 14 per cent lower than a price agreed for supplies for the year through September this year.

The agreement helps restore clarity to an opaque market after Glencore and Tohoku Electric abandoned the annual talks for April-March supplies last year.

The Australian miner later agreed on a price of $110 per tonne in August for some contracts with other Japanese thermal coal buyers for the April to March period.

Glencore has two annual benchmark supply contracts with Japanese utilities, typically negotiated by Tohoku Electric, one for April through March and the other for October through September that takes account for later market conditions.