BHP Billiton said Wednesday that 2008 prices for coking coal products are expected to increase by between 206% to 240% over last year.

Terms for a significant portion of annually-priced metallurgical coking coal contracts relating to the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance operations in Queensland have been concluded following settlements initially outside Japan and more recently with key Japanese customers, the firm said.

Reports out earlier in the week speculated that prices could rise sharply, in part due to supply disruptions.

Japan