SMM Daily Review - 2011/9/8 Zinc Market

SHAGNHAI, Sept. 9 (SMM) -- On Thursday, SHFE three-month zinc contract prices opened higher at RMB 17,200/mt, drove up by LME zinc prices overnight, and fluctuated between RMB 17,100-17,200/mt in the morning session. At the end of trading, SHFE three-month zinc contract prices rolled back previous gains to close at RMB 17,070/mt, up RMB 50/mt. Trading volumes decreased by nearly 100,000 lots to 217,558 lots, and total positions decreased by 7,954 lots to 243,396 lots.

In domestic spot markets, #0 zinc was traded between RMB 16,900-16,950/mt, with discounts of negative RMB 200-220/mt against SHFE 1111 zinc contract prices, but with transactions quiet. #1 zinc was traded between RMB 16,850-16,900/mt, with spot discounts modestly expanding. Some traders entered the market, causing the overall transactions to improve. Spot discounts narrowed to negative RMB 180-220/mt with falling SHFE zinc prices at the end of trading, but downstream buying interest was lower.