Toyama port aluminium stocks fall by 28% MoM on Russian cuts

Platts reported that stocks of primary aluminium products stored at Toyama port in central Japan were down by 28% MoM to 9,552 tonnes by May end due to a fall in Russian imports. The Toyama port stocks of primary aluminium ingot, alloy and billets usually stand at 12,000 to 13,000 tonnes, but stocks fell in May due to Japanese aluminium consumers cutting purchases from Russia on the back of slow housing demand. Japanese manufacturers of aluminium housing components, such as Sankyo Tateyama and Nippon Light Metal, have production plants in the Toyama prefecture. Most of aluminium products delivered to the Toyama port are from Russia, as the port faces the Sea of Japan. Traders said that stocks at the Fukui port near Toyama fell too. The Fukui port had aluminium stocks of 3,230 tonnes at the end of May, down from 4,502 tonnes in April. The port usually keeps 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes of aluminium. However, some sources said the fall in May port stocks could also be because of supply tightness as Russian aluminium producer Rusal had suggested renegotiating supply terms. Rusal had said earlier it was discussing Japanese supply contract terms for July, as current contracts expire in June. Japanese traders buying from Rusal said the Russian producer was looking to cut shipments to Japan. Russia is the second-largest supplier of primary aluminium to Japan after Australia, and accounts for roughly 30% of Japanese imports. Imports into Japan from Russia were 25,905 tonnes in April. Almost all Japanese integrated trading houses, which trade just about all commodities, have supply contracts with Rusal. There are some consumers in the housing and aluminium fabrication sectors, which also buy from Rusal directly. Japan's end May total aluminium port stocks were estimated at 250,000 to 256,000 tonne and the traders are expecting another 40,000 tonnes stock reduction in June, projecting end June stocks around 200,000 tonnes. They forecast end July stocks slightly lower at 180,000 to 200,000 tonnes. source：steelguru.com