UPDATE 2-Japan end-Sept aluminium stocks dip to lowest in 14 yrs

* End-Sept aluminium stocks down 33.5 percent yr/yr * Aluminium imports kept at low levels (Adds details) TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Aluminium stocks held at key Japanese ports totalled 169,900 tonnes at the end of September, down 11.6 percent from a month earlier and the lowest since Marubeni Corp (8002.T) began taking records about 14 years ago. Marubeni collects data from the key ports of Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka. The latest data is down 33.5 percent from the end of September in 2008. Demand for aluminium in Japan began plunging late last year as top consumers such as automakers were forced to cut output as they battled the worst economic downturn in decades. The Japanese aluminium industry responded by aggressively consuming stocks that had built up to high levels. They also curbed imports of the metal, which is widely used in the packaging and construction industries. Demand for aluminium in Japan is slowly returning as manufacturers increase production, but consumption still remains below year-earlier levels. An official at Marubeni said imports were not increasing significantly. "Companies are only buying to cover their immediate needs, nobody wants to buy more than that given high premiums," he said. He added that Japan's domestic demand for aluminium had not yet returned to its usual level. Japanese buyers last month agreed to pay a 14-year high premium for primary aluminium ingots to be supplied in the October-December quarter due to tight regional supplies. Aluminium stocks at ports had increased 10 percent at the end of August from from 174,200 tonnes at the end of July, which at the time was the lowest since records started to be kept by Marubeni. Following are details of Japanese aluminium stocks, including month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons (in tonnes): Yokohama Nagoya Osaka Total Sept 30 84,600 73,300 12,000 169,900 Aug 31 94,550 85,650 12,000 192,200 July 31 94,300 67,900 12,000 174,200 June 30 106,900 87,900 12,800 207,600 End-Sept 2008 125,200 119,400 11,000 255,600 (Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa)