SMM Daily Review - 2012/2/1 Zinc Market

SHANGHAI, Feb. 2 (SMM) -- SHFE three-month zinc contract prices fell slightly on Wednesday. China’s official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector in January 2012 stood above 50% after removing the Chinese New Year holiday factor, which was better than expected, but the HSBC January manufacturing PMI for China released later was disappointing, causing markets to be more cautious. As a result, SHFE three-month zinc contract prices mainly moved around the daily moving average, and later fell below the daily moving average in the afternoon session due to significant declines in LME zinc prices, with prices finally closing at RMB 15,775/mt, down RMB 235/mt or 1.47%.  

In the spot market, #0 zinc was traded at discounts between RMB 310-320/mt over SHFE three-month zinc contract prices, with actual traded prices between RMB 15,600-15,650/mt. Traded prices for imported zinc fell below RMB 15,600/mt, while #1 zinc was traded around RMB 15,500/mt, with discounts of RMB 400-420/mt. Downstream consumers gradually entered the market, helping improve overall trading activity.