BHUBANESWAR, Mar.4 -- India's state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) (NALU.BO: Quote) sold 1,800 tonnes of aluminium billets at $130 per tonne premium over the average LME cash price on a cost and freight Singapore basis, a company source said on Wednesday.

NALCO exported billets for the first time in a decade with the aim of expanding its presence in the global market.

The buyer was British metals trader LN Metals, the source, who is close to the tendering process but cannot be named due to company policy, said. NALCO, the tenders of which serve as an international benchmark for prices, will supply the billets in six batches of 300 tonnes each from March to August, the source added.