Aluminium producer seeks Q4 premium of $82/T from Japan buyers-sources

(Adds quotes and inventory data)

TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A major aluminium producer has offered Japanese buyers a premium of $82 per tonne for October-December primary metal shipments, down 9-12 percent from the previous quarter, three sources directly involved in pricing talks said on Tuesday.

The level represents the lowest in more than seven years and reflects high level of inventory and weakening spot aluminium premiums in Asia, the sources said.

The sources identified the producer as Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) , but the company declined to comment.

Japan is Asia's biggest importer of the metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region.

For the July-September quarter, Japanese buyers agreed to pay a premium of $90-93 (PREM-ALUM-JP), down 19-23 percent from the prior quarter, on softer spot premiums.

The latest quarterly pricing negotiations began this week between Japanese buyers and miners, including Rio Tinto Ltd , Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA - news) and South32 Ltd, and are expected to continue until next month.

"We've received an offer from a producer today at $82 per tonne," a source at an end-user said.

"But that's still too high compared to the current spot premium levels. We will be seeking somewhere at low $70s (a tonne)," the source said.

Another source at a fabricator also said a premium in the low $70s would be appropriate given the high level of local stock and slack demand in housing and construction in Japan.

Aluminium stocks at three major Japanese ports have fallen to 305,900 tonnes by end-July from a record high of 502,200 tonnes in May 2015, but they are still above the 230,000 tonnes to 270,000 tonnes held in early 2014. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Adrian Croft)