Some enterprises halted production for maintenance, and the operating rate of zinc oxide declined slightly this week [SMM Weekly Review of Zinc Oxide]

SMM News on July 11:

     This week, the operating rate of zinc oxide stood at 55.84%, down 0.3% MoM. On the raw material side, zinc prices continued to rise this week, and zinc oxide enterprises mainly made just-in-time procurement, with raw material inventories slightly decreasing MoM. On the finished product inventory side, some enterprises halted production due to equipment maintenance issues recently, leading to a continuous depletion of their original finished product inventories. However, influenced by the weakening downstream demand, the outflows from warehouses of some enterprises slowed down somewhat. Therefore, finished product inventories remained basically flat compared to last week. Regarding terminal orders, due to the current off-season for automobile production and sales, coupled with the still high inventory levels at terminal tyre factories, both factors have dragged down the continuous weak operation of rubber-grade zinc oxide. The demand for ceramic-grade zinc oxide has also weakened, with some ceramic factories in northern regions experiencing inventory buildup. Although the demand for household varistors in the electronic-grade zinc oxide sector is poor, overall demand remains relatively stable due to support from the power grid. The decline in zinc oxide operating rates this week was mainly due to production halts at some enterprises caused by equipment damage, resulting in reduced production. The halted enterprises are expected to resume production by the end of this week, and the operating rate of zinc oxide enterprises is projected to rise to 56.75% next week.

  》Click to view SMM Metal Industry Chain Database