SMM Morning Comment For Zinc Market On January 9

SHANGHAI, January 9 (SMM) –
Overnight, the U.S. dollar index closed down 0.14%. The U.S. non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index in December and the service industry employment sub-indicator in December both fell, inhibiting the rise of the U.S. dollar; The New York Fed's December survey showed that consumers' inflation expectations for 2024 fell to 3.01% in December from 33.6% in the previous month, the lowest in three years. Federal Reserve Board of Governors officials said that the risk of rising inflation still exists and that it is not yet the right time to cut interest rates. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for the first time in the third quarter, once again cooling expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. LME zinc opened at $2553/mt on Monday, with a session low of $2491/mt before closing at $2504/mt, down 1.57%. Open interest rose 1108 lots to 203,000 lots. LME zinc inventories fell 1675 mt to 218375 mt.Overnight, the most-traded SHFE 2402 zinc contract opened at 21140 yuan/mt, and closed at 21095 yuan/mt, down 160 yuan/mt or 0.75%. Trading volume fell to 37495 lots, and open interest decreased 2004 lots to 69996 lots. According to SMM statistics, domestic refined zinc production is expected to drop to 572,400 mt in January 2024 from 590,900 mt in December, and the market's spot volume may remain in short supply, providing support for SHFE zinc.