Reuters reported that JFE Steel Corporation's incoming president has attacked BHP Billiton's moves to adopt a pricing system that better reflects spot trades, saying that a shift would hurt the global economy and make it hard for miners to raise funds.

Locked in tense annual price talks on iron ore and coal, BHP wants to dump the 40 year old system of annual contract pricing in favor of spot trades or at least quarterly pricing to reflect changes in market conditions more rapidly.

Mr Eiji Hayashida EVP of JFE Steel said that "Bumpy, wild swings in iron ore and coal prices are not favorable to miners, who need to make heavy investments for the development of mines. Wild ups and downs in prices of basic materials like steel caused by speculative money are undesirable for the whole economy."

JFE aims to raise the ratio of raw materials it buys from its own mines to 25% to 30% as it tries to counter miners' growing negotiating power.

Mr Hayashida will take the helm of JFE Steel following shareholders' approval in June 2010. Current president Mr Hajime Bada will head parent company JFE Holdings Inc.

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)