BHUBANESWAR, India, March 12 (Reuters) - India's National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) <NALU.BO) on Friday sold 3,600 tonnes of aluminium ingots at a premium of $78 a tonne over the LME cash price on a cost, insurance and freight basis, a source said.
The buyer was Singapore-based trader Gold Matrix Resources, said a senior official who has direct knowledge of the tender process but can not be identified due to company policy.
"The metal will be shipped in three batches of 1,200 tonnes each month from March to May," he said. The company received five bids for the tender.
NALCO's sale prices are watched as they generally serve as an international benchmark.
The state-run firm last sold in February 4,500 tonnes of aluminium ingots to European trading firm Trafigura at $83.55 per tonne premium over the average LME cash price on a cost and freight basis. [ID:nSGE61908L] (Reporting by Jatindra Dash; Editing by Surojit Gupta)