Exclusive: China's refined zinc output fell 2.06% on the month to 494,600 mt in May

SHANGHAI, Jun 8 (SMM) – China's refined zinc output stood at 494,600 mt in May, down 2.06% or 10,400 mt on the month and up 4.32% on the year. Output stood at 2.51 million mt in January-May, up 4.51% year on year. Smelters in the survey sample produced 79,200 mt of zinc alloy in May, up 2.32% from the previous month. Output of primary zinc stood at 392,625 mt in May, and secondary zinc output came in at 47,750 mt. In addition, SMM revised China's refined zinc output in April to 505,100 mt, a correction range of 5,000 mt.

SMM survey showed that the increase in domestic refined zinc supply in May was less than expected, and fell sharply by nearly 10,000 mt month on month. The rainy season in Yunnan was delayed, and the power consumption in Yunnan was urgent. To protect power consumption of residents, the government began to require production companies to use power at peak shifts. SMM estimated that the impact of power curtailment on the production of refineries in Yunnan in May stood at more than 8,600 mt and the production conditions of other refined zinc enterprises basically met expectations in April.

Since there is no clear notification of the end of the power curtailment of the refineries in Yunnan, the June output forecast is divided into optimistic and pessimistic forecasts (only including production companies that are uncertain about the specific production schedule in June). Pessimistic expectation is that refined zinc output in Yunnan area will decrease by 13,120 mt from the previous month. Optimistic expectation is that refined zinc output in Yunnan area will decrease by 4,500 mt from the previous month. Except for Yunnan, the resumption of production is mainly concentrated in the resumption of production after the regular maintenance in May, and the reduction is based on Gansu refineries. In summary, the pessimistic expectation is that domestic refined zinc output will increase by 2,400 mt from the previous month to 497,100 mt in June. Optimistic forecast is that domestic refined zinc output will increase by 12,300 mt to 507,000 mt from the previous month.