Aluminum stocks at major Japanese ports were mostly unchanged as of the end of December, down just over 1% on month and still at a "healthy" level, a trader at a large Japanese trading firm said Monday.
Aluminum stocks totaled 233,900 metric tons at the end of December, down from 237,000 tons, the trader said.
He added that Japanese companies imported slightly less aluminum in December because the end of the Japanese fiscal year in March is approaching.
"Because of the end of the fiscal year, Japanese companies would like to keep a lower inventory level, so this figure is not so bad."
He expects Japanese traders will try to keep stocks throughout 2007 between 200,000 and 250,000 tons to maintain a balance between demand and supply.
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