SMM March 7 News:
This week, the operating rate of zinc oxide recorded 57.71%, up 0.3% MoM. On the raw material side, zinc prices rose this week, and zinc oxide enterprises mainly adopted just-in-time procurement. Raw material inventories remained basically flat, while downstream consumption was still in the recovery phase, leading to a slight increase in finished product inventories. In terms of orders, tyre factories currently showed relatively weak operations, with subdued tyre demand. For ceramic orders, as the weather gradually warms up, ceramic orders showed slight improvement, and enterprises held optimistic expectations for subsequent ceramic orders. Regarding feed orders, overall feed orders operated relatively normally, but due to the narrowing price difference between hog prices and breeding costs, enterprises were relatively cautious about subsequent feed orders. Additionally, orders for electronic-grade zinc oxide and other categories remained relatively stable with no significant changes. As for the operating rate, despite the improvement in downstream consumption, the increase in the operating rate was relatively small this week due to rising zinc prices and some enterprises still suspending production during the week. Next week, with the resumption of production by some enterprises, the operating rate of zinc oxide is expected to rise to 58.85%.
