Japan Primary Al Port Stock Drops in September

Japanese primary aluminium port inventory decreased by 22,900 tonnes to 168,300 tonnes at end of September from August, which was the first drop in 2 months. The stock level was the lowest level since 2000, according to industry sources, when the users including light metal rerollers restarted spot purchase from domestic stock under gradual demand recovery. A trading firm source expects the stock could keep normal level of 160,000-170,000 tonnes for a while under low level demand.

The stock decreased by 11.1% to 84,000 tonnes in Yokohama at end of September from August. The stock decreased by 14.6% to 72,300 tonnes in Nagoya while the stock was flat at 12,000 tonnes in Osaka.

The national stock was much less than 200,000 tonnes, which was regarded as tight supply condition, in September. However, the supply is balanced when the demand decreases by 20-30% from normal level. The users are still reluctant to purchase the metal at long term contract while they utilize spot purchase for immediate use.

The stock is expected to keep 160,000-170,000 tonnes for a while. A major trading firm source sees the users purchase same volume of metal in October-December as July-September with same condition in supply and demand. The domestic demand couldn’t show major improvement for a while when the automobile demand could decrease after the temporally demand increase due to stimulus package including replacement support and tax break for environmental friendly vehicles.