Zinc social inventories shrank 4,700 mt over weekend

SHANGHAI, May 24 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China fell over the weekend.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei decreased 4,700 mt from last Friday May 21 to 161,500 mt as of Monday May 24. The stocks were down 9,700 mt from May 17.

Stocks in Shanghai continued to decrease as the inflow of imported zinc slowed down, and the market digested domestic zinc stocks. In south China's Guangdong, power curtailment and limited production in Yunnan smelters affected market arrivals, which led to the continuous decrease in stocks. Stocks in Tianjin piled up as downstream orders were moderate with bearish zinc prices, and downstream continued to purchase on rigid demand.

Compared to last Friday, social inventories of refined zinc across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) decreased 3,400 mt.