Aluminium stocks continue slide

Aluminium stockpiles tracked by the London Metal Exchange fell for a 26th session, dropping in warehouses from the US to Malaysia. Inventories of the lightweight metal slid 10,300 tonnes to 4.50 million tonnes, the lowest level since January 20, LME data showed yesterday. The streak of declines is the longest since August 26, 2004. Stockpiles have dropped 4.4 per cent since May 24, according to exchange figures. "What will be interesting to see is whether the recent outflows are followed by similar large inflows over the next couple of weeks, suggesting material is being shifted about rather than being consumed," Leon Westgate, a Standard Bank Plc analyst in London, said in a report on Wednesday. Orders to remove aluminium from warehouses, or cancelled warrants, fell 9,900 tonnes to 448,500 tonnes. The orders have dropped 15 per cent since June 6, when they reached the highest level since at least October 1997, led by gains in Asia. "The aluminium cancelled is not against demand," said Nick Riley, head of LME sales at Marex Financial, one of 12 companies on the exchange's floor. "A lot of that movement in the Far East is all one warehouse moving to another warehouse," he said, adding that stockpiles of other metals also were being shifted. Tin inventories increased 165 tonnes to 22,150 tonnes on a gain in Singapore, while cancelled warrants were little changed at 2,615 tonnes. The orders jumped fivefold on June 28 to the highest level since April 2010, led by a surge in Singapore. From / Gulf News