Chugoku was tipped to lead the Japanese utilities in contract negotiations as Tohoku Electric was significantly affected by the recent natural disasters in the country.
Tokyo-based Tepco also remains occupied with the ongoing disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Both Dow Jones Newswires and Platts reported the $129.80 price settlement, citing market sources.
This price is 7% above the indexed Newcastle-delivered spot price of $121.13/t for the week ending April 1.
While the volumes of the reported deal are unknown, Platts said it was 13% higher than the previous settlement of $115/t between Xstrata and Japanese utilities for supply in 2011.
The latest deal is also 32% above Xstrata’s annual contract price of $98/t, struck with Chubu Electric 12 months ago.
The country’s Electric Power Development Company (J-POWER) said it was planning to use more than 20 million tonnes of thermal coal for this Japanese financial year last week according to the Australian.
The company also has the new 600 megawatt Takehara No.1 thermal coal-fired plant scheduled for construction in 2015.
While Japan is currently suffering from rolling power blackouts, long-term impacts from the Fukushima nuclear disaster could lead to greater adoption of coal-fired electricity in the broader east Asia region.
Xstrata was also scheduled to negotiate with Chubu, Kansai Electric and Kyushu Electric last week, according to reports.
The previous record annual thermal coal benchmark struck between Australian producers and Japanese utilities was $125/t in the flood-affected year of 2008.
