Zinc social inventories rose 3,800 mt over weekend

SHANGHAI, Apr 12 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China rose over the weekend.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 3,800 mt from last Friday April 9 to 232,600 mt as of Monday April 12. The stocks were up 4,200 mt from April 6.

Stocks in Shanghai increased as rising zinc prices suppressed downstream procurement demand with normal arrivals at smelters. In south China's Guangdong, individual smelters increased shipments in the Guangdong market, and the outbound quantity was relatively stable, which led to the slight increase in stocks. Stocks in Tianjin piled up as downstream procurement became cautious when zinc prices and steel prices went up.

Compared to last Friday, social inventories of refined zinc across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) increased 3,100 mt.