April 7 (Bloomberg) -- Nippon Steel Corp., the world's second-biggest maker of the alloy, said talks to settle contract coking coal prices are continuing, denying a Nikkei newspaper report that it agreed to pay three times more for the raw material.

``Nothing has been decided'' in coal price negotiations with raw material suppliers, Masato Suzuki, a spokesman for the Tokyo- based company, said today by phone.

Nippon Steel and JFE Holdings Inc., Japan's second-biggest mill, cut their profit forecasts last fiscal year because of soaring prices for coking coal and iron ore, used to make steel. Spot prices for coking coal have jumped to about $330 a metric ton, Macquarie Group Ltd. analysts including Jim Lennon said March 28, compared with $98 a ton the mills paid in annual contracts for the year ended March 31.

Nippon Steel is likely to accept a push by BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, to raise coking coal to $300 a ton from $98 for the year started April 1, Nikkei English News said April 5. BHP spokeswoman Emma Meade declined to comment.

Nippon Steel dropped 4 percent to 509 yen as of 10:20 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average was unchanged.

JFE and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., Japan's third-biggest steelmaker, may also agree to pay three times more for coking coal, Nikkei said.