TOKYO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Aluminium stocks at three major Japanese ports jumped 21 percent to an 18-month high of 245,200 tonnes at the end of August from a month earlier, an official at Marubeni Corp said on Friday.
The estimate of aluminium stocks at the key ports of Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka also rose 7.5 percent from a year earlier -- the first year-on-year rise since July 2007.
Inventories rose sharply as mills closed their plants for summer holidays during the month, swelling stockpiles, the official said.
Stocks also rose due to increasing imports from Australia during the month, he said.
Industry sources said slowing demand could be another factor boosting domestic stockpiles due to growing uncertainty over the automobile and construction sectors.
Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker, and Honda Motor Co cut their sales forecasts in July as they battle rising costs and a crumbling U.S. auto market.
Construction demand has been falling due to tighter building rules introduced by the government a year ago after a scandal over falsified engineering data on apartment blocks.
Following are details of Japanese aluminium stocks, including month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons (in tonnes):
|
Yokohama |
Nagoya |
Osaka |
Total |
Aug-31 |
119,000 |
114,200 |
12,000 |
245,200 |
Jul-31 |
91,400 |
98,300 |
12,600 |
202,300 |
Jun-30 |
93,500 |
94,800 |
14,500 |
202,800 |
End-Aug 2007 |
116,400 |
98,100 |
13,500 |
228,000 |
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