Aluminum Stockpiles in Japan Climb to 15-Month High

Sept. 10 （Bloomberg） -- Aluminum stockpiles in Japan expanded 13 percent to 236,100 metric tons at the end of August, the highest level in 15 months, trading company Marubeni Corp. said today.

Inventories held in Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka ports increased from 208,200 tons as of July 31 on fewer shipments, according to Marubeni, Japan's largest importer of the metal used in cars and houses. It was the largest volume since May 2009, when stockpiles stood at 243,300 tons.

Inventories dropped to 169,900 tons in September last year, the lowest level since Marubeni began compiling data in June 1995, after importers slashed the volume of purchases on expectation that demand would weaken amid an economic slump.

A breakdown of the Japanese stockpiles data follows:

=============================================================

Yokohama     Nagoya     Osaka     Total

=============================================================

Aug. 31, 2010      121,200    101,900    13,000   236,100

July 31, 2010      105,400     89,800    13,000   208,200

Aug. 31, 2009       94,550     85,650    12,000   192,200

（Figures are in metric tons.）

=============================================================

*T--Editor: Jarrett Banks, Matthew Oakley