SHANGHAI, Jun 19 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China registered a small decline this week, as a sharp rally in prices deterred downstream consumers from buying.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei decreased 2,000 mt in the week ended June 19 to 217,500 mt, after a decline of 4,200 mt in the previous week.

Notably, the stocks increased 900 mt from Monday June 15.

Stocks across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) were little changed from a week ago as the loss in south China’s Guangdong was offset by increases in east China’s Shanghai and Tianjin in the north. That followed a 3,700 mt fall in the previous week.

Stocks in Guangdong fell this week due to reduced deliveries from major smelters who conducted maintenance or increased direct shipments to downstream consumers.

Stocks in Shanghai rose on concentrated arrivals of imported cargoes, with SMC accounting for the majority, while the arrival of deliveries from Guangdong and Shanghai lifted stocks in Tianjin.