Futures market: LME copper opened at $9,729/mt last Friday night, initially fluctuating rangebound and testing the low of $9,710/mt before gradually moving higher and probing $9,799/mt near the session close, eventually settling at $9,794.5/mt, up 1.2%.

[SMM Morning Comment on Zinc] Last Friday, LME zinc recorded a large bullish candlestick, and the MACD also turned bullish. Last Friday, the US dollar index pulled back, and non-ferrous metals generally rose. The LME 0-3 zinc contract once again turned into a backwardation structure...

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Increased Capital Concentration, Zinc Prices Lead the Gains] Zinc prices showed a strong upward trend last Friday, driven by an increase in overseas capital concentration. Additionally, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) proposed that work plans for stabilizing growth in ten key industries, including steel, non-ferrous metals, and petrochemicals, are expected to be introduced soon...

The SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index for this week is $73.75/dmt, with a 10.94% WoW increase. The SMM Imported Lead Concentrate average spot TC for this week is $-55/dmt, flat from the previous week's figure......

[Macro sentiment generally positive, SHFE zinc records a bullish candlestick] The most-traded SHFE zinc 2509 contract opened at 22,360 yuan/mt. After the opening, bears increased their positions, causing SHFE zinc to decline continuously below the daily average line. Near the end of the trading session, bulls increased their positions, enabling SHFE zinc to recover some of its losses. It ultimately closed higher at 22,295 yuan/mt, up 175 yuan/mt or 0.79%. Trading volume increased to 151,000 lots, and open interest rose by 11,470 lots to 116,000 lots.....

[SHFE/LME price ratio continues to oscillate around 8.1, zinc ingot import window remains closed]: This week, the SHFE/LME price ratio continued to oscillate around 8.1, and the zinc ingot import window remained closed. From an overseas perspective, at the beginning of the week, there was an inventory buildup in LME zinc inventory, alleviating market concerns about supply, and LME zinc prices declined. Subsequently, the excellent performance of US retail sales data in June boosted market sentiment, overshadowing tariff disruptions. Meanwhile, Trump once again called on the US Fed to cut interest rates, leading to a continuous upward trend in LME zinc prices.

[Downstream consumption in the doldrums, domestic inventory continues to increase] According to communication with SMM, as of Thursday (July 17) this week, the total SMM zinc ingot inventory across seven locations was 93,500 mt, an increase of 3,300 mt from July 10 and an increase of 500 mt from July 14, with domestic inventory recording an increase...

[Zinc Price Center Moves Downward, Operating Rate of Zinc Oxide Enterprises Rises Slightly]  This week, the operating rate of zinc oxide enterprises reached 56.32%, up slightly by 0.47% MoM. On the raw material side, zinc prices fell at the beginning of the week, prompting zinc oxide enterprises to make small purchases; at the same time, the supply of some zinc oxide raw materials has widened slightly recently, leading to an MoM increase in enterprises' raw material inventories. On the finished product inventories side, the decline in zinc prices in the first half of the week drove an increase in shipments from some large zinc oxide enterprises, resulting in an MoM decrease in finished product inventories...

[US June's "Retail Sales" Shows Strong Performance, with Divergent Changes in SHFE and LME Zinc Prices] At the beginning of the week, from a macro perspective, Trump stated that if Russia fails to reach an agreement on the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 50 days, a 100% secondary tariff will be imposed on Russia. In terms of fundamentals, overseas LME zinc inventory surged by 8,150 mt to 113,400 mt, and LME zinc prices continued to decline due to macro interference and inventory buildup...

[Some enterprises entered the routine maintenance phase, with operating rates of die-casting zinc alloy declining this week] This week, the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy was recorded at 51.95%, down 2 percentage points MoM. On the raw material side, the center of zinc prices slightly declined at the beginning of the week, and die-casting zinc alloy enterprises mainly made just-in-time procurement, with raw material inventories slightly increasing MoM. On the finished product inventory side, affected by the price pullback in the first half of the week, downstream procurement enthusiasm slightly rebounded, and enterprises' outflows from warehouses increased, leading to a decrease in finished product inventories of die-casting zinc alloy...