[Galvanising operating rates reached a nearly three-year high in April. How did different regions perform?] April, as a traditional peak season, saw robust overall demand for galvanising. Due to issues such as tariffs, there was an early release of future demand, resulting in relatively good overall operating rates. How did North China, east China, and South China perform respectively? Can the robust trend continue in May?

[How Has the Downstream Consumption of Various Die-Casting Zinc Alloy Sectors Performed Recently Amid the Sino-US Joint Statement Boosting Market Vitality?] On May 12, China and the US issued the "Sino-US Joint Statement on the Geneva Economic and Trade Talks", easing trade tensions. Amid the ever-changing macro landscape, how has the recent downstream consumption of China's die-casting zinc alloy performed? First, from the perspective of zinc prices and the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy, domestic zinc prices in April continued to decline due to macro fluctuations, reaching a new low in 2025 and falling below 22,000 yuan/mt. The low prices prompted most end-users to buy the dip, coupled with some end-users in the market taking limited "rush exports" actions, thereby driving an improvement in orders for die-casting zinc alloy enterprises in April. The following analysis will delve into sectors such as real estate, auto parts, and exports...

[Daily candlestick center moved downward; focus on macro data in the evening] The most-traded SHFE zinc 2506 contract opened at 22,600 yuan/mt. Early in the session, as bulls reduced their positions, SHFE zinc fluctuated downward below the daily average line, eventually closing down at 22,500 yuan/mt, down 90 yuan/mt or 0.40%. Trading volume decreased to 118,000 lots, while open interest fell by 4,704 lots to 94,346 lots...

[Strong Demand for Ceramic-Grade Zinc Oxide Drives Up Operating Rate of Zinc Oxide This Week] This week, the operating rate of zinc oxide reached 62.41%, up 2.68% WoW. On the raw material side, the price center of zinc rose this week, while the coefficients of some raw materials also increased. Faced with high prices, enterprises mainly made just-in-time procurement, leading to a slight decrease in raw material inventory. In terms of finished product inventories, some enterprises achieved good sales during the week, resulting in a significant reduction in finished product inventories...

[Trade Frictions Continue to Cool, SHFE and LME Centers Rise Slightly] At the beginning of the week, LME zinc prices fell slightly; subsequently, substantive progress was made in the high-level economic and trade talks between China and the US, and a joint statement on the China-US Geneva Economic and Trade Talks was issued. The tense trade relations between China and the US eased somewhat, and overall market sentiment improved, driving LME zinc prices higher. Then, the US dollar index continued to rise, and as the market's positive sentiment was somewhat digested, LME zinc prices pulled back continuously...

[Downstream demand dominated by just-in-time procurement; Guangdong premiums and discounts decline] This week, premiums and discounts in Guangdong plummeted, dropping by 190 yuan/mt WoW. As of Friday this week, the mainstream 0# zinc quotations in the Guangdong market were at premiums of 255~275 yuan/mt against the market, and the Shanghai-Guangdong price spread widened...

[Macro Sentiment and Export Orders Improve, Operating Rate of Die-Casting Zinc Alloy Enterprises Rises] This week, the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy enterprises reached 59.08%, up 4.48 percentage points MoM. On the raw material side, affected by the rise in zinc prices this week, the procurement of die-casting zinc alloy enterprises decreased somewhat, and the raw material inventories of enterprises declined slightly. On the finished product side, some enterprises indicated that after the Labour Day holiday, the sentiment of end-users for procurement and cargo pick-up had weakened somewhat, leading to a slight increase in finished product inventories in the near term...

[Domestic TCs Remain Stable While Imported TCs Increase Slightly]: This week, zinc concentrate TCs increased slightly. The weekly average SMM Zn50 domestic TC remained flat WoW at 3,500 yuan/mt (metal content), while the weekly average SMM Zn50 imported TC rose by US$5/dmt WoW to US$45/dmt...

[Ningbo Spot Premiums Plummet Amid Low-Priced Imported Zinc Ingot Impact]: This week, spot premiums in Ningbo plummeted, decreasing by 200 yuan/mt compared to the weekly average price WoW. As of Friday this week, spot prices against the 2506 contract in Ningbo were quoted at a premium of 265 yuan/mt, with a premium of 40 yuan/mt against the SHFE, and the price spread against the SHFE maintained a fluctuating trend...

[SHFE/LME Price Ratio Pulls Back to Near 8.3, Zinc Ingot Import Window Closes]: This week, the SHFE/LME price ratio pulled back to near 8.3, and the zinc ingot import window closed. Overseas, both China and the US lowered tariffs, easing trade tensions. LME zinc continued to rise, while US retail sales in April slowed down significantly and PPI unexpectedly declined, sparking market concerns about a US economic recession and causing LME zinc to fall.