TOKYO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Some Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay producers a premium of $110 per tonne for metal to be shipped in the January-March quarter, five sources directly involved in the quarterly pricing talks said.
The deal, which marks a 22 percent rise from a $90 per tonne premium PREM-ALUM-JP in the previous quarter, is the first increase in four quarters, in line with a rise in overseas surcharges for physical aluminium.
Japan is Asia's biggest importer of aluminium 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.