Limited arrivals lower social inventories of refined zinc below 100,000 mt

SHANGHAI, Dec 17 (SMM) – Social inventories of refined zinc across Shanghai, Guangdong and Tianjin came in at 99,000 mt as of Monday December 17, down some 3,000 mt from Friday December 14 and down 8,700 mt from Monday December 10, SMM data showed.

Compared to a year earlier, the inventory figure stood 102,200 mt lower.

With stable downstream purchases and limited seaborne arrivals, social stocks across Shanghai, Guangdong and Tianjin are likely to decline.

Capacity relocation and environmental issues are expected to extend declines in domestic zinc output in December, which would shrink shipments to social warehouses and lower social stocks.

While some Tianjin smelters sent cargoes to Shanghai, warehouses there saw limited arrivals as some were still en route and some directly entered downstream. Social inventories of refined zinc in Shanghai are unlikely to gain significantly in the short term.