Reuters reported that aluminum stocks held at 3 major Japanese ports at the end of February fell 5.7% from a month earlier to 208,100 tonnes reflecting low import volumes.
Trading house Marubeni Corporation official said that import volumes were small and there were delays in shipment arrivals, so stocks naturally declined. The drop in stocks was due more to smaller inflows than to sluggish outflows due to falling demand. January to March typically was a period when trading firms adjust import volumes.
Japan which must buy nearly all the metal it needs annually imports about 2 million tonnes of primary aluminum widely used in products ranging from computers, planes and electronics to the food sector.
Industry officials have said that stock levels around 10% of total imports represented a healthy level and the Marubeni official said current stocks were deemed appropriate. The latest stocks were 3.7% higher than a year ago.
Japanese shipments of aluminum products rose 4.2% in January from a year earlier, gaining for a 14th straight month on strong exports but growth slowed as domestic demand remains sluggish and the outlook is unclear.
A source said that some deals for term premiums for primary aluminum shipments to Japan in the April to June quarter were agreed at USD 112 per tonne to USD 113 per tonne flat from the current quarter.
Following are details of Japanese aluminum stocks including MoM and YoY comparisons;
Yokohama Nagoya Osaka Total
28-Feb 102,300 91,800 14,000 208,100
31-Jan 110,900 97,800 12,000 220,700
31-Dec 108,300 101,300 14,000 223,600
30-Nov 100,900 96,100 13,000 210,000
End-Feb 2010 98,700 88,500 13,500 200,700
(In tonnes)
(Sourced from Reuters)
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