IAI: July 2010 World Aluminum Inventories Up 6.8% On Month

LONDON, Aug 26, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- World aluminum inventories in July 2010 rose 6.8% to their highest in over a year, figures released Thursday by the International Aluminum Institute showed.

Inventories increased by 152,000 tons on the month to 2.398 million tons. This was 149,000 tons above the inventory level in July 2009.

The largest increases occurred in Latin America and Europe.

The IAI details inventories as follows, in thousands of tons:

July '10         June '10       July '09
Africa           90                80             86
North America    586               557*           558
Latin America    232               170*           185
Asia             377               358            321
Europe           1023              990            1002
Oceania          90                91             97
Total           2.398             2.246*         2.249

NOTE: The data included in this IAI Statistical Report have been derived exclusively from returns by the primary aluminum producers themselves. These producers may be either Members of the IAI or Official Correspondents, the latter being enterprises possessing, or which have possessed, effective control over primary aluminum production but which are not Members. Official Correspondents are approved by the Board of the Institute.

Neither sources outside the industry nor estimates are used.

Unwrought aluminum is aluminum in its basic cast form made from primary metal or from scrap and which is unworked in the metallurgical sense.

Total aluminum is unwrought aluminum plus unprocessed scrap, metal in process and finished semi-fabricated (mill) products.

Unwrought and total aluminum inventories are all relevant inventories over which primary aluminum producers have some degree of control, with the exception of metal included in LME or COMEX stock reports.

Further clarification can be found in "A Guide to the IPAI Statistical System - Revised Aluminum Inventory Reporting Guidelines" (dated Oct. 28, 1999) which is available from the IAI.