SHANGHAI, Feb. 19 (SMM) – The US dollar continued rising sharply on Monday and moved above 80.5, a gain of 0.18% during the day. In this context, LME zinc started down at USD 2,174/mt and slipped all the way, with prices closing at USD 2,155/mt, down USD 21.5/mt or 0.99%. Markets were closed for Washington's Birthday and Canada's Family Day, so market activity was quiet. Trading volumes decreased 3,107 lots to 7,019 lots, and positions dropped 1,926 lots to 300,804 lots. LME zinc stocks declined 2,500 mt to 1,191,050 mt.

SMM believes that zinc will extend losses today. LME zinc prices will win effective support at the 20-day moving average and fluctuate between USD 2,145-2,170/mt. The most active SHFE 1305 zinc contract will search support at the 20 and 30-day moving average after opening slightly down, and hover in the RMB 15,700-15,850/mt band. Shanghai spot zinc discounts are expected between RMB 280-310/mt.