TOKYO, July 3 (Reuters) - Some Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay global producers premiums of $395 per metric ton over the benchmark price for July-September shipments, up 12-13% from the previous quarter, two sources directly involved in the pricing talks said.

The figure is above the $350-$353 per ton paid in April-June and marks a third consecutive quarterly increase and the highest since January-March 2015, when premiums touched $425.

Japan is a major Asian importer of the light metal, and the quarterly premiums it agrees to pay for primary metal shipments over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price CMAL0 serve as the regional benchmark.