TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Japan's aluminium premiums for October-December shipments were set at $90 per tonne, down 10 percent from the previous quarter on high domestic inventories and weaker overseas rates, five sources directly involved in the talks said on Wednesday.
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.
Two end-user sources and two buyers at trading houses said all deals were done at $90, while a source at one of the producers said most shipments were booked at $90.
The fourth-quarter premiums, against $100 per tonne PREM-ALUM-JP paid in the July-September quarter, marked the third straight quarterly decline. Premiums hit a record high of $425 in the January-March period.
The latest quarterly pricing negotiations began late last month between Japanese buyers and global miners, including Rio Tinto Ltd RIO.AX RIO.L , Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) AA.N and BHP Billiton's spin-off South32. ID:nL4N112564