Zinc Smelters Held Fewer Zinc Concentrate Stocks in February

SHANGHAI, Mar 16 (SMM) – Zinc smelters kept 27.71 days of raw material inventory on average in February, 0.39 day shorter than in January. Some smelters were running at full capacity in February, significantly boosting the demand for zinc ore. Although stocks of imported zinc ore at domestic ports were relatively high, the amount of ore that was available for sale was scarce as most of them had been booked by buyers in advance. Mines in north-west and north China did not resume their production immediately after the CNY break. In this context, zinc ore supply was in shortfalls.