Aluminum Buyers Hold Back Locking in Costs, Harbor Survey Shows

Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Aluminum buyers are holding back from locking in their costs because they’re betting on lower prices, a Harbor Intelligence survey showed. Less than 10 percent of consumers surveyed hedged their purchases for 2010, down from 75 percent at this time last year for 2009, Harbor analyst Jorge Vazquez said in an interview in London yesterday. Aluminum inventories in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange have almost doubled this year. “People see reports that 20 percent of capacity is idled and that inventories are at record highs, and they don’t see why they should buy now,” Vazquez said. Aluminum prices have climbed 27 percent this year and about 40 percent since the end of March, when Harbor recommended aluminum, Vazquez said. To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net