Smelters Actively Procured Domestic Zinc Ore, Zinc Concentrate TCs in Some Regions Declined in September [SMM Zinc Concentrates Weekly Review]

SMM September 5 news:

Domestic zinc concentrate TCs edged down this week. The average SMM Zn50 domestic weekly TC dropped 50 yuan/mt in metal content MoM to 3,850 yuan/mt in metal content, while the SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index rose $2.5/dmt WoW to $96.25/dmt.

In the spot market, September domestic zinc concentrate TCs were largely finalized across multiple regions this week, with some domestic smelters seeing TCs cut by 50-100 yuan/mt in metal content, marking the initial signs of a downward trend in domestic TCs. For imported zinc ore, the SHFE/LME price ratio continued to deteriorate this week, with import losses widening to over 1,500 yuan/mt in metal content. Traders exhibited strong wait-and-see sentiment, resulting in chaotic ore offers in the market and tepid purchase willingness from smelters. Import transactions remained sluggish during the week. Recent zinc ore supply remained stable, but falling zinc prices further squeezed domestic mine production margins, dampening miners' willingness to raise September TCs. Additionally, domestic zinc ore currently holds stronger price advantages, prompting smelters to actively compete for domestic supply. Some northern smelters are approaching winter stockpiling season, driving robust demand for zinc ore and leading to slight declines in September domestic zinc concentrate TCs.

This week, SMM zinc concentrate inventories at China's main ports totaled 428,900 mt, up 14,900 mt WoW, with Huangpu Port seeing notable inventory growth.