Zinc social inventories expanded 5,600 mt over weekend

SHANGHAI, May 10 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China rose over the weekend.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 5,600 mt from last Friday May 7 to 187,900 mt as of Monday May 10. The stocks were up 7,800 mt from April 30.

Stocks in Shanghai increased due to increasing arrivals at smelters and rising zinc prices suppressing downstream demand post-holiday. In south China's Guangdong, spot transaction prices were higher than prices in other regions, and smelters increased shipments to Guangdong market. Stocks in Tianjin piled up as most downstream companies stockpiled before the holiday, which affected the post-holiday purchasing demand.

Compared to last Friday, social inventories of refined zinc across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) increased 5,300 mt.