Japanese port stocks sharply lower in March

Stocks of aluminium held at Japanese ports slumped by 44,400t over the course of March to 201,500t, according to an estimate by local trading house Marubeni.

They were down by 17.9% against the year-earlier period and at the lowest level seen since the end of 2002.

Local sources have attributed the sharp monthly drop to delayed shipments and the usual de-stocking ahead of the financial year-end at the end of March. There still seems to be a lot of tentativeness in Japan about the underlying state of demand—good in some sectors, poor in others—and most observers are waiting to see what happens to stocks this month before drawing any hard conclusions.

The drop in Japanese port stocks almost offset the cumulative 47,241t rise in exchange stocks last month—those held with the LME, the Shanghai Futures Exchange and those warranted with NYMEX

The overall stocks movement in March now stands at a net build of 2,841t with only producer stock figures missing for the month. They will be released towards the end of this month.