Aluminum Stockpiles in Japan Drop 2.4%, Marubeni Corp Says

Aluminum stockpiles in Japan decreased 2.4 percent to 230,400 metric tons at the end of September, trading company Marubeni Corp. said today.

Inventories held in Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka ports fell from 236,100 tons as of Aug. 31, according to Marubeni, Japan’s largest importer of the metal used in cars and houses.

Inventories dropped to 169,900 tons in September last year, the lowest level since Marubeni began compiling data in June 1995, after importers slashed the volume of purchases on expectation that demand would weaken amid an economic slump.