Zinc inventories in China continued to fall sharply this week, propelled by substantial declines in Shanghai and Tianjin where galvanising plants saw strong orders and stepped up raw material procurement. SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei decreased 14,400 mt in the week ended April 3 to 292,600 mt, marking a third straight week of decline. Compared to Monday, the stocks shrank 11,400 mt.

China’s crude steel production increased 5% year on year to 74.8 million mt in February, according to calculations by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) based on a China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) production estimate.

SHFE nonferrous metals extended declines across the board on Thursday, in a broad sell-off amid renewed fears about the hit to global demand from the coronavirus. Copper fell to its daily limit for the second consecutive day, losing 9% on Thursday, as the metal is seen by investors as a gauge of economic health. Scheduled output controls at some copper mines failed to lend support to the prices. 

China’s production of primary aluminium in the January-to-February period rose 2.4% year on year to 5.85 million mt, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Monday. NBS data also showed that China's production of 10 nonferrous metals, including copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel, totaled 9.35 million mt in the first two months of 2020, up 2.2% from the same period last year.

SHFE nonferrous metals closed mostly lower on Monday as downbeat industrial data from China and emergency interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve underscored the potentially crippling blow of the coronavirus pandemic to the global economy. 

Treatment charges (TCs) for zinc concentrate remained at high levels despite moderation, and this supported the profits at Chinese zinc smelters and reduced the likelihood of a production cut,  while the coronavirus impact has weighed on zinc prices since the Chinese New Year holiday and spurred speculations that smelters may reduce output to prop up the market. 

Zinc inventories in China continued to trend higher over the weekend, as arrivals at south China increased and as limited cargoes were delivered from warehouses in the south and east. SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei stood at 340,500 mt as of Monday March 16, up 5,600 mt from Friday March 13 and 2,600 mt from Monday March 9.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 12,100 mt in the week ended March 13 to 334,900 mt, compared to a gain of 9,400 mt in the previous week. Notably, the stocks declined 3,000 mt from Monday March 9, propelled by a drop in Shanghai where downstream consumers were keen to buy after zinc prices tumbled.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, nickel shed 2.6% on the day to lead the losses across nonferrous metals, copper tumbled 2.5%, zinc plunged 1.5%, tin dropped 1.2%, lead slipped 1.1%, and aluminium lost 0.7%. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange also moved lower across the board.

Nickel surged 4.2% to lead the gains across nonferrous metals, zinc jumped 3.7%, copper advanced 1.8%, tin climbed 1.4%, lead rose 0.7% and aluminium gained 0.5%.