Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world's biggest iron-ore producer, is asking Nippon Steel Corp. and its Japanese rivals to pay 12 percent more for the material on top of a 65 percent increase agreed to in February, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.
Japanese steelmakers received the request this week, the sources said, declining to be named because talks are confidential. Vale has asked Chinese mills for a similar increase after Asian steelmakers in June and July agreed to hikes of as much as 97 percent for Australian iron ore from Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd., Vale's biggest competitors.
Soaring costs for iron ore and other materials have prompted Nippon Steel, JFE Holdings Inc. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., Japan's three biggest steelmakers, to forecast lower profits this fiscal year. An increase by Vale would be another break in the tradition of annual price talks setting a benchmark for Asia's steelmakers and global suppliers.