Uncertainty Remains After Interest Rate Cut, SHFE and LME Zinc Prices Show Mixed Changes [SMM Market Review - Weekly Price Commentary]

       LME Zinc: At the beginning of the week, LME zinc continued its upward trend from the previous week; subsequently, multiple US Fed officials released hawkish signals, increasing uncertainty about future interest rate cuts, and market investors reassessed the future direction of US Fed policy, leading to a continuous decline in LME zinc; then, Powell indicated that the policy rate remained somewhat restrictive, which could open the door for rate cuts, but market sentiment remained volatile amid uncertainty, and LME zinc recovered some losses before maintaining a fluctuating trend; however, influenced by rising copper prices, non-ferrous metals generally rose, coupled with declining overseas zinc inventory, LME zinc continued to rise; subsequently, US Q2 GDP was significantly revised upward, while initial jobless claims for the week decreased, below previous and expected values, and the US dollar index continued to strengthen, hitting a nearly two-week high, leading LME zinc to pull back. As of 15:00 Friday, LME zinc recorded $2,922.5/mt, up $24/mt, a gain of 0.83%.

       SHFE Zinc: At the beginning of the week, SHFE zinc strengthened driven by gains in LME; meanwhile, according to SMM data, as of Monday, domestic zinc ingot inventory continued to decrease to 157,000 mt, pushing SHFE zinc higher; however, from the perspective of current domestic fundamentals, although zinc inventory decreased, the peak consumption season characteristics were relatively weak domestically, and zinc supply remained generally loose, leading SHFE zinc to decline; subsequently, driven by LME gains, SHFE zinc rose slightly; but the fundamental logic of oversupply persisted, and SHFE zinc lacked upward momentum, maintaining a fluctuating trend; then, influenced by rising copper prices and further declines in domestic inventory, SHFE zinc edged higher; afterwards, SHFE zinc continued to fluctuate. As of 15:00 Friday, SHFE zinc recorded 21,980 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt, a loss of 0.27%.