Domestic and Imported Zinc Concentrate TCs Continue to Decline, Import Market Offers Are Chaotic [SMM Zinc Concentrate Weekly Review]

SMM News on November 14:

Domestic zinc concentrate TCs continued to decline this week. On a weekly basis, the average SMM Zn50 domestic weekly TC dropped by 50 yuan/mt in metal content WoW to 2,600 yuan/mt in metal content, while the SMM imported zinc concentrate index fell by $14.87/dmt WoW to $83.5/dmt.

In the spot market, the SHFE/LME price ratio remained low recently, and the loss on imported zinc concentrates stayed around 2,000 yuan/mt in metal content during the week. Driven by economic considerations, smelters actively purchased domestic zinc ore this week. The tight supply of domestic zinc concentrates persisted, leading to lower TCs in many regions. For imported zinc ore, traders continued to lower their offers for imported zinc concentrates this week. Recent transactions for standard zinc concentrates were heard below $90/dmt for a 10,000 mt shipment with December loading. Other offers for imported zinc concentrates were chaotic, and the decline in imported zinc concentrate TCs continued this week. Additionally, the winning bid result for New Century zinc concentrates was heard around $50/dmt for a 10,000 mt shipment with December loading. A zinc mine in North China launched another tender this week, with the winning bid result at 2,700 yuan/mt in metal content (including a 20/80 sharing).

On November 11, the China Zinc Raw Materials Joint Negotiation Group (CZSPT) held its latest quarterly meeting in Kunming, Yunnan. The group conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on recent trends in the domestic and overseas zinc concentrate markets. In response to the extreme conditions in overseas LME spot-futures price spreads and price spreads between domestic and overseas markets, as well as fluctuations in spot TCs at home and abroad, which negatively impact the smelting industry, the group jointly deliberated on countermeasures. They unanimously called for upstream and downstream players in the domestic and overseas industry chain to adhere to the concept of a community with a shared future, focus on long-term development, cooperate sincerely, and work together to maintain the healthy and sustainable development of the global industry. During the meeting, CZSPT also released the guidance price range for imported zinc concentrate TCs in US dollars before the end of Q1 2026: $105/dmt (average) to $120/dmt (average).

This week, SMM zinc concentrate inventories at main ports in China totaled 305,700 mt in physical content, down 43,100 mt in physical content WoW, with Fangchenggang contributing the main decrease.