SMM zinc morning comment: Weaker expectations over Fed rate cut weighed on LME zinc prices

Last Wednesday, the number of new non-farm payrolls in the United States in March exceeded expectations; Federal Reserve officials once again made " hawkish " remarks; is Iran's retaliation imminent? The US is on high alert! ; Gaza multi-party negotiations made important progress; CME raised the margin for gold and silver futures; Saudi Aramco raised the price of Arab crude oil sold to Asia in May; He Lifeng held talks with US Treasury Secretary Yellen; the retail price of pure gold jewelry approached 720 yuan/gram; China's central bank increased its gold holdings for 17 consecutive months.

Last week, LME zinc had a strong momentum and rose sharply for two consecutive days, reaching a high of US$2,650/ton, an increase of 6.22%. On Friday, LME zinc closed down at US$ 2,622/ton, down US$14/ton, a decline of 0.53%. Trading volume decreased to 16,367 lots, and open interest increased by 6,438 lots to 252,000 lots. LME inventory decreased by 1,775 tons to 260,200 tons, a decrease of 0.678%. The inventory reduction pushed LME zinc up, but the US job growth in March was better than expected, and the weakening expectation of interest rate cuts suppressed the rise of LME zinc. It is expected that LME zinc will remain rangebound at highs today.
Shanghai Futures Exchange was closed last Friday due to the Qingming Festival.