Tianjin Zinc Ingot Spot Premiums/Discounts Remain Sluggish, How Will They Move in the Future? [SMM Analysis]

Published: Feb 28, 2026 14:24

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After the Chinese New Year holiday, premiums in Tianjin remained at a discount throughout February. How will premiums and discounts move going forward?

SMM February 28 News:
After the Chinese New Year holiday, premiums in Tianjin remained at a discount throughout February. How will premiums and discounts move going forward?

Supply side, smelters of major brands in Tianjin maintained normal production in February. According to SMM, supported by high prices of sulphuric acid and minor metals, smelters maintained strong production enthusiasm, which further boosted their willingness to produce. Although the holiday affected road transportation, rail transport continued normally, leading to a noticeable increase in Tianjin's inventory, which suppressed the rise of premiums in Tianjin.

Demand side, zinc downstream demand in Tianjin is mainly concentrated in galvanising enterprises. Since February, small plants have mostly entered the holiday period, while large plants began to resume work gradually from February 26. Small plants will generally start production after March 2, and some traders are still on holiday. Overall, the work resumption progress in the Tianjin market has been slow, and spot cargo transactions have been inactive, making it difficult for premiums in Tianjin to rise.

Looking ahead, most end-users will resume work in early March, and it will take time for downstream operations to return to normal levels. With zinc ingot inventory in Tianjin still relatively high, it is expected that premiums and discounts in Tianjin will see a slight increase going forward, but the upward momentum will be limited.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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