Domestic zinc concentrate TCs reach negative territory, extending declines [SMM Zinc Concentrate Weekly Review]

SMM June 12:

Weekly data, the SMM Zn50 domestic weekly average TC declined by 100 yuan/mt Zn WoW to -50 yuan/mt Zn, while the SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index (weekly) fell by 0.45 $/dmt WoW to -71.2 $/dmt.

Domestic Ore Market. This week, domestic smelters maintained their procurement pace for domestic zinc concentrates. The tight supply pattern of domestic zinc concentrates remained unchanged, with TCs continuing to decline in many regions. Except for a few northern provinces, domestic zinc concentrate TCs in other regions have generally fallen into negative territory. Additionally, according to SMM, this week a northwest mine's EXW tender price for June zinc concentrate was below -700 yuan/mt Zn, down by around 1,000 yuan/mt Zn from the previous month's tender.

Imported Ore Market. This week, available offers in the imported zinc concentrate market were limited. Smelters remained focused on domestic ore procurement, and overall trading sentiment for imported ore was weak. Market sources showed that the latest winning bid price for Dugald River zinc concentrate was around -120 $/dmt, for shipment in September/October, with a volume of 10,000 mt. Recently, multiple rounds of tenders for imported zinc concentrates have been conducted, and the winning bid results for mainstream mines such as Antamina, Volcan, BVC, and Gamsberg are yet to be announced.

This week, SMM zinc concentrate inventories at major Chinese ports totaled 296,000 mt in physical content, down by 5,000 mt in physical content WoW, with Lianyungang accounting for the majority of the decline.