Zinc social inventories expanded 1,200 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Sep 4 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China rose this week, primarily propelled by a sharp increase in Tianjin and losses in Shanghai.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 1,200 mt in the week ended September 4 to 178,400 mt, after an increase of 1,500 mt in the previous week. The stocks fell 900 mt from Monday August 31.

Inventories in east China’s Shanghai declined this week as inflows of imported zinc increased slightly with increasing downstream purchase at low prices.

In south China’s Guangdong, the smelters resumed production after the maintenance, and the output of some mills increased, leading to a decrease in inventories.

Inventories in north China’s Tianjin surged this week as production was restricted by environment protection, leading to the sluggish downstream demand.

Stocks across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) increased 1,900 mt this week, after a 1,600 mt decline in the week before.