Domestic aluminum stockpiles dropped by 15 percent in June from a month earlier to hit their lowest level in 11 months as domestic demand increased and traders reduced metal imports.
Inventories in Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka ports fell to 207,600 metric tons at the end of last month, compared with 243,300 tons May 31 and 202,800 tons a year earlier, trading house Marubeni Corp. said Tuesday.
Volumes dropped for the fourth month from a 10-year high of 374,600 tons in February, according to Marubeni, Japan's largest importer of the metal.
Shipments of aluminum rolled products fell at a slower pace in May than in April as demand from beverage can producers and carmakers increased, the Japan Aluminium Association said last month.
Prime Minister Taro Aso's ¥25 trillion in extra spending helped consumer sentiment climb to an 18-month high in June, Cabinet Office figures showed Monday.
"After hitting bottom in the first quarter, domestic demand has been gradually improving," Koji Iida, spokesman of the aluminum association, said.
Demand from carmakers improved after plunging by 70 percent at one point during the January-March period from a year earlier, he said.
Demand improved as carmakers and machinery producers increased output after reducing inventories. Stockpiles also fell as trading companies and aluminum rolling mills pared purchase volumes under supply contracts this year in anticipation of worsening demand amid the recession.