Mixed Consumption Performance Across Market Segments; Die-Casting Zinc Alloy Operating Rates Are Expected to Decline Next Week [SMM Die-Casting Zinc Alloy Weekly Review]

This week, the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy recorded 51.51%, down 0.29 percentage points WoW and basically flat from the previous week. Inventory side, zinc prices fluctuated at highs this week, and downstream long-term contract cargoes gradually arrived at plants, coupled with enterprises continuing to draw previously priced low-cost cargoes, leading to some increase in raw material inventory; meanwhile, restrained by high prices, enterprises' finished product inventories also edged up slightly. In terms of order performance, terminal hardware enterprises had already completed stockpiling at low levels earlier, and demand was suppressed after prices rose recently, resulting in overall mediocre performance of orders across all die-casting zinc alloy segments. Among them, zipper hardware was in the peak consumption season, with relatively favorable demand that was basically in line with enterprise expectations, while orders for electronic products also remained steady. Looking ahead to next week, some die-casting zinc alloy enterprises plan to suspend production during the Qingming Festival holiday, and the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy is expected to edge down and fluctuate around 49.97% next week.