TOKYO, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Some big aluminium producers are seeking a premium of $125-$130 per tonne from Japanese buyers for April-June primary metal shipments, up 14 percent to 18 percent from the previous quarter, four sources involved in pricing talks said on Monday.
Japan is Asia's biggest importer of the metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price CMAL0 set the benchmark for the region.
For the January-March quarter, Japanese buyers agreed to pay a premium of $110 per tonne PREM-ALUM-JP , up 22 percent from the prior quarter. latest quarterly pricing negotiations began late last week between Japanese buyers and miners including Rio Tinto Ltd RIO.AX RIO.L , Alcoa Inc (N:AA) AA.N and South32 Ltd S32.AX , and are expected to continue in March.