TOKYO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - At least one Japanese buyer has agreed to a premium of $125 per tonne for aluminium to be supplied in the first quarter of 2010, industry sources said on Thursday, the highest since 1995 and up about 4-9 percent from the current quarter.
Industry sources said that at least two other deals were also believed to have been done at $128.
The premium levels are down from sellers' initial offers which were from $135 to just below $140, they added.
"We agreed on a premium at $125 but the volume it covers is not large," one Japanese industry official involved in the talks said.
Japanese buyers accepted premiums of $115-$120 per tonne for delivery in October-December as sellers profited from worries about low stockpiles at Japanese ports and tightly held inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses.
Premiums are charges paid by the consumer, on top of the
LME cash price , to cover the costs of shipping and delivering metal.
A second official with a Japanese trading company said he believed that at least two agreements have been reached at $128.
Details, such as the volume of the purchases, were not immediately available, however.
"I think these deals were done, as we have ourselves received an offer to sell at $128," said the official who is himself directly involved in negotiating with foreign miners.
"On the other hand, there are also suppliers who have not budged from their initial offers," he continued.
He added that his company had not yet reached an agreement, as it was still hoping to win a premium below $125.
Sellers have been pressing for a high premium saying that supplies of the metal, used widely in construction and transport, are tight.
Premiums for physical aluminium are rising in Europe as much of the record high inventory in
LME warehouses is tied up in financing deals that are not likely to be unwound suddenly.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa)
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