Source: Financial Times, 13th April 2010

South Korean steelmakers have urged their Japanese peers to join them in opposing price increases for iron ore and coal, after moves by the world's leading mining groups to switch to short-term contracts. About 50 government and industry officials from the two countries held their eleventh annual steel meeting in Tokyo where they expressed concerns about iron ore suppliers' move to drop a 40-year-old annual pricing mechanism in favour of shorter-term deals based on the spot market.