Bumi settles coal price at $132 per ton with some Japanese buyers

Asia's largest coal exporter PT Bumi Resources has agreed to sell its coal at $132 per ton to some Japanese buyers from April this year through March next year.

"It's true that some settlements have been reached with Japanese utilities at $132/ton on index for April 2008/March 2009 deliveries.

"These levels are 140 percent higher than the previous year and higher than the matching Australian settlements of $125 on index and ex-China which are far lower," Bumi's Senior VP Investor Relations Dileep Srivastava told Petromindo.Com in an e-mail statement.

He said Bumi was able to get a premium price because of "our unrivalled reliability on supplies and our unmatched freight advantage."

The firm is still nogotiating with other Japanese buyers on the price.

"We hope to conclude all our Japanese settlements in about 3 weeks from now.

Earlier, Bumi revised its 2008 average coal selling price estimate to US$70 per ton (FOB) from $64. In comparison, Bumi sold its coal at $44 per ton in 2007.

Bumi is expected to sell 62 million tons of coal this year, up from 55.4 ton last year. (denny)