In February 2024, China's refined zinc output was 502,500 mt, a month-on-month decrease of 64,400 mt or 11.36%, and a year-on-year increase of 0.22%. The cumulative output from January to February was 1.069 million mt, a year-on-year increase of 5.61%, slightly lower than expected. In February, domestic zinc alloy output was 95,300 mt, a decrease of 14,350 mt from the previous month.
In February, the output of domestic smelters dropped significantly. During the Chinese New Year holiday, smelters closed for maintenance. Moreover, zinc concentrate raw materials were tight after the holiday, thus some companies delayed their resumption of production. The number of calendar days decreased by 2 days, lowering the output. The main output reductions were concentrated in Hunan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Guangdong.
SMM predicts that domestic refined zinc production in March 2024 will increase by 5,300 mt from the previous month to 507,900 mt, a year-on-year decrease of 8.78%, and the cumulative output from January to March will be 1.577 million mt. Production increased slightly in March, mainly due to the increase in production days in March, and the recovery of production of some companies in Sichuan after the holidays and the increase in production in Anhui and Hunan. But output in Hunan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Liaoning, Qinghai and other places dropped significantly due to maintenance. The overall output did not change much.
