LME inventory surge weighs on zinc prices

SHANGHAI, Apr 26 (SMM) – LME zinc price registered an intra-day fall of 1.7% as inventory at the exchange’s warehouses continued to rise.

LME zinc inventory stood at 228,150 mt as of Thursday April 26, up 18,675 mt from the previous day. This added to an increase of 28,150 mt seen just one day ago. A large delivery was believed to have been made into the warehouse at Antwerp.

The SHFE zinc 1806 contract also plunged to a low of 23,680 yuan/mt during the day, leading the loss among base metals with a 3% drop.

SMM expects zinc prices to go down further as the delivery may continue with volume amounting to some 70,000 mt.

In late February, zinc stocks in LME warehouses stood at a 10-year low of 130,000 mt. A record one-day increase of 78,950 mt, or 59%, was seen on March 5. An additional 10,275 mt was delivered on March 14.

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