Zinc social inventories shrank 1,600 mt over weekend

SHANGHAI, Nov 16 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China fell slightly over the weekend, primarily propelled by a decrease in Shanghai and Guangdong.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei decreased 1,600 mt from last Friday November 13 to 166,100 mt as of Monday November 16. The stocks were down 3,600 mt from November 9.

Stocks in Shanghai decreased due to decreased inflow of imported zinc. In south China's Guangdong, limited arrivals and increased downstream demand due to the low prices led to the sharp decline in local zinc inventories. Stocks in Tianjin continued to pile up as downstream orders seasonally weakened and small and medium-sized enterprises limiting production by 40% in response to environmental protection requirements affected market demand.

Compared to last Friday, social inventories of refined zinc across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) decreased 2,100 mt.