Some Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay global producers premiums of $395 per metric ton over the benchmark price for July-September shipments, up 12-13% from the previous quarter, two sources directly involved in the pricing talks said.
The figure is above the $350-$353 per ton paid in April-June and marks a third consecutive quarterly increase and the highest since January-March 2015, when premiums touched $425.
Japan is a major Asian importer of the light metal, and the quarterly premiums it agrees to pay for primary metal shipments over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price LME:AH1! serve as the regional benchmark.