Zinc social inventories expanded 16,000 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Feb 5 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China rose this week, with stocks in Shanghai, Guangdong and Tianjin increasing relatively sharply.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 16,000 mt in the week ended February 5 to 154,200 mt. The stocks rose 15,100 mt from Monday February 1.

Stocks in Shanghai increased as downstream restocked when zinc prices fell despite decreased demand. In south China's Guangdong, arrivals at smelters increased and downstream took a holiday successively with shrinking demand, prompting stocks to increase sharply. Stocks in Tianjin rose slightly as some cargoes at smelters were shipped directly to the downstream plants.

Stocks across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) rose 16,200 mt this week, after a 2,600 mt decrease last week.