Rio Tinto looks to squeeze money out of Japanese aluminum buyers

Rio Tinto Alcan has requested a quarterly premium of $254 per tonne over the July-September LME cash price for aluminum shipments to Japan, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The requested price is up considerably from the $248-$250 per tonne average premium from last quarter.

Japan imports more aluminum that any other Asian nation.

The premiums agreed between Japanese buyers and aluminum producers set the price benchmark for the region.