Discounts of spot zinc grow as smog alert depresses downstream demand

Published: Feb 28, 2019 15:00 (GMT+8)

Save

Orange smog alert in Tianjin affected production of galvanizing plants and lowered their purchases

SHANGHAI, Feb 28 (SMM) – Discounts of spot zinc in Tianjin grew some 10 yuan/mt from Wednesday, to 120 yuan/mt over the SHFE 1903 contract on Thursday February 28, as orange smog alert in the city affected production of galvanizing plants by half and lowered their purchases.

Traded prices of #0 zinc ingot mostly occurred at 21,710-22,540 yuan/mt this morning, with prices of #0 common brands at 21,710-21,780 yuan/mt. The Tianjin-Shanghai price spread remained at a discount of 30 yuan/mt, unchanged from Wednesday.

Sellers of spot zinc in Shanghai were less willing to expand discounts as the futures prices dipped on the morning of Thursday February 28.

However, current high inventories of refined zinc and slow resumption of downstream demand prevent discounts from narrowing, and kept them at around 20 yuan/mt over the SHFE 1903 contract at noon, compared with a discount up to 30 yuan/mt on the previous morning.

This morning in Shanghai, #0 zinc traded at 21,760-21,850 yuan/mt, and saw traded prices of #1 zinc at 21,650-21,700 yuan/mt. Premiums of higher quality Chihong and Shuangyan brands stood at 50-70 yuan/mt this morning, flat from the morning of Wednesday February 27.

The SHFE 1903 contract weakened and settled at 21,795 yuan/mt at the end of this morning trading session, down 95 yuan/mt from that time on Wednesday.

Market commentary Futures movement Spot zinc

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

18 hours ago

【SMM Flash News】Copper Lake Closes First Private Placement Tranche to Fund Marshall Lake Copper-Zinc Exploration.

Copper Lake Resources announced the closing of the first tranche of its non-brokered private placement, issuing 15,625,031 units at $0.15 each for gross proceeds of $2,343,755. Net proceeds will fund exploration at the Marshall Lake copper-zinc-silver-gold project in Ontario, Canada, and general working capital. The second and final tranche is expected to close by October 14. Completion of the private placement remains subject to all necessary regulatory approvals, including TSX Venture Exchange approval.

18 hours ago

BMC Minerals reports further expansion of polymetallic mineralisation at Rhyolite Peak

BMC Minerals reported on October 5 that polymetallic mineralisation at the Rhyolite Peak target within its Kudz Ze Kayah project in Yukon, Canada, had been further extended. Rhyolite Peak is a silver-zinc-gold-copper-lead exploration target located near the proposed ABM mine. The update remains an exploration-stage drilling development and does not constitute a new Mineral Resource, Ore Reserve or production change.

18 hours ago

【Flash | DOWA’s H2 Zinc Plan Rises 27%, Potentially Supporting Indium Recovery】

DOWA Holdings plans to produce 113,543 tonnes of zinc in H2 FY2026, up 27.0% from its H1 plan of 89,373 tonnes and 26.8% from the 89,525 tonnes produced in H2 FY2025. Its Akita Zinc operation uses the hematite process to recover indium and other valuable metals at high yields and integrates zinc smelting with rare-metal production and recycling. Higher planned zinc output may increase feed throughput for by-product indium recovery. However, DOWA disclosed no indium production target, and any supply increase will depend on feed grades, recovery rates and operating schedules rather than zinc volumes alone.

18 hours ago