Japan Q4 aluminium premium set at $86 a ton, down 20% from Q3 -sources

TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The premium for aluminium shipments to Japanese buyers for October to December was set at $86 per metric ton, down 20% from the previous quarter, reflecting weak demand, five sources directly involved in the pricing talks said.

The figure is lower than the $108 per ton paid in the July-September quarter and marks a third quarterly decline. It is also lower than the initial offers of $98-$103 per ton made by producers.

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 London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price CMAL0 set the benchmark for the region.