Wesfarmers reported on Friday that its coal export prices for the first quarter of 2012 would go down 19 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.

That means prices would go down to $230 per metric tonne for January to March from $250.

The $50 dip came after the firm finished price negotiations for about 95 per cent of its buyers of metallurgical coal sourced from Wesfarmers' Curragh mine in Queensland's Bowen Basin.

The coal is mainly used for steel manufacturing.

Australia's Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics forecast prices of high-quality hard coking coal at an average of $226 a tonne for 2012 which is 22 per cent lower than the 2011 average price.

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