China Zinc Concentrate TCs Expected to Fall Further, Says SMM

SHANGHAI, Apr. 8 (SMM) – TCs of domestic zinc concentrate will still have room to fall in the near term as domestic  zinc concentrate supplies tighten, says SMM. Domestic zinc smelters prefer to buy domestic ore at present.

SMM understands a few zinc smelters in Hunan lowered TCs of domestic zinc concentrate. TCs of domestic zinc concentrate rose for some smelters in Sichuan as local ore supplies grew after restarts at an increasing number of mines.

Losses from imported ore narrowed 220 yuan to 810 yuan per tonne (zinc content) compared with domestic ore, SMM calculates. Domestic zinc smelters are unwilling to buy imported ore due to severe losses, leaving trading muted.

TCs of domestic zinc concentrate (50%) stabilized at 5,200-5,400 yuan per tonne (zinc content) this past week, and those for imported zinc concentrate (50%) were $110-130 per dry metric tonne (DMT), according to SMM data.

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