Japan Q2 aluminium premium set at $182/T, down 20% from Q1 -sources

TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - The premium for aluminium shipments to Japanese buyers for April to June was set at $182 a metric ton, down 20% from the current quarter, to reflect weak demand, six sources directly involved in pricing talks said.

The figure is lower than the $228 per ton paid in January to March and marks a first quarterly decline in five quarters.

Japan is a major Asian importer of the light metal and the premiums PREM-ALUM-JP for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the benchmark London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price CMAL0 set the benchmark for the region.