LME Zinc Posted Seven-Day Losing Streak

SHANGHAI, Apr 12 (SMM) - On the news front, International Monetary Fund said that global economy may slide into a recession if financial turmoil worsens; US Treasury Secretary Yellen remained vigilant on the downside risks to the global economy due to the Ukraine war and the banking pressure; Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicag, took a cautious stance on rate hikes while claiming that a pullback in lending could help reduce policy introduction.

LME zinc opened at $2,787/mt at last night’s session, hitting a high of $2,806.5/mt and a low of $2,765/mt, and closed at $2,771/mt, down $33/mt or 1.18%. Trading volume was reduced to 6,842 lots, and open interest increased by 417 lots to 178,000 lots. LME zinc inventory decreased by 200 mt or 0.45% to 44,700 mt. LME zinc prices continued to weaken last night, and a pullback in the spot premiums in Europe also signalled a recession in overseas consumption. Eyes should be put on the CPI due today.

Overnight, the most-traded SHFE 2305 zinc contract opened lower at 21,990 yuan/mt and closed at 21,960 yuan/mt, down 75 yuan/mt or 0.34%. Trading volume was down to 48,265 lots, and open interest gained 1,811 lots to 107,000 lots. As SHFE zinc prices fell below 22,000 yuan/mt, the market sentiment was weak, accompanied with low operating rates of downstream enterprises. The social inventory also saw a slowdown in decline.