Continuous Environmental Protection Warnings in the North: How is the Operating Rate of Zinc Downstream? [SMM Analysis]

SMM, October 28: During the week, zinc downstream consumption showed some divergence. The operating rate of galvanizing producers declined significantly, mainly due to environmental protection-driven production restrictions in north China. Enterprises' operations were limited, and under the orange environmental protection warning, companies that had not yet completed previous environmental upgrades basically halted production, leading to a noticeable overall limitation in operations. Additionally, with the seasonal peak period for orders coming to an end and the weakening of ferrous metals prices, new orders for galvanizing were few, and enterprises' production enthusiasm decreased. The operating rate of zinc oxide producers increased, mainly due to the resumption of production by companies that had undergone maintenance earlier, although there was no significant increase in actual orders. Overall, downstream consumption has not yet improved.