Social inventories of zinc ingots across seven major markets in China increased last week

SMM data shows that social inventories of zinc ingots across seven major markets in China totalled 78,600 mt as of Thursday January 25, up 7,700 mt from January 19 and 4,500 mt from January 22. The inventory in Shanghai increased significantly, mainly due to more arrivals of cargoes during the week and traders active in shipping cargoes. As zinc prices rose, downstream purchases decreased; in Guangdong, due to the increase in the proportion of direct shipments to smelters, cargoes arriving in warehouses were scarce. This, combined with normal downstream delivery-taking, reduced inventory in Guangdong. Some cargoes arrived in Tianjin during the week, and the downstream delivery-taking was normal, growing inventory slightly. Inventories in Shanghai, Guangdong and Tianjin rose 3,300 mt.