Russia RUSAL expects aluminium stocks to rise

MOSCOW, May 19 - The world's top aluminium producer Russia's United Company RUSAL said on Tuesday it expects aluminium stocks in the London Metal Exchange warehouses to keep rising until at least the third quarter. "The market has been in oversupply and we expect LME stocks to continue increasing until at least the third quarter of this year," Artyom Volynets, RUSAL's director of strategy and corporate development, told reporters. The LME aluminium stocks are now approaching a record 4 million tonnes. Volynets also said RUSAL planned to lower its production costs by the fourth quarter to $1,000 per tonne of aluminium from $1,300 per tonne now. The company is currently holding talks with foreign lenders to restructure $7.3 billion in debts [ID:nLE093041]. (Reporting by Robin Paxton, writing by Gleb Bryanski; editing by Sue Thomas)