Operating Rates Slipped Sharply as Zinc Oxide Producers Braced for Holiday

SHANGHAI, Jan 9 (SMM) - According to SMM survey, the average operating rate of zinc oxide producers stood at 46.2% last week, down 5.5 percentage points from a week earlier. In terms of raw material inventory, the low operating rates of galvanising plants resulted in a dire shortage of zinc slag in the market, thus pushing up its prices. In this context, some zinc oxide companies even considered buying zinc ingots as raw materials for production, and the overall stocking effort was less than expected. In terms of holiday arrangements, except for the companies that were already closed after the New Year's Day due to poor orders, most companies planned to take holidays since around January 14. On the whole, zinc oxide enterprises were gearing up for Chinese New Year holiday amid flat orders. Most of them focused on delivering old orders or completing annual production tasks. Operating rates of zinc oxide plants are expected to drop further this week.