SMM Zinc Market Morning Review (2015-5-19)

Published: May 19, 2015 10:31

Save

Escalating Greek crisis weighed down the euro whilst pushing up the US dollar index, pulling down base metals.

SHANGHAI, May 19 (SMM) – Escalating Greek crisis weighed down the euro whilst pushing up the US dollar index, pulling down base metals. LME zinc prices opened at USD 2,289/mt, then pointed toward USD 2,300/mt during European trading hours, and fell back to USD 2,280 mt, and closed at USD 2,283.5/mt, down USD 8/mt or 0.35%. Trading volumes decreased 3,172 to 6,951 lots, and total positions grew 3,731 to over 340,000. LME zinc inventories fell 2,550 to 435,925 mt.

SHFE 1507 zinc contract prices opened at RMB 16,835/mt Monday evening, then dropped to RMB 16,800/mt, and closed at RMB 16,795/mt, down RMB 25/mt or 0.15%. Trading volumes decreased 37,956 to 29,122 lots, and total positions fell 364 to 106,418.

Growing Greek crisis increased risk aversion, boosting gold prices. The EUR:USD slumped 1.14%. Greek bond yields plunged. NAHB housing market index in May was 54, falling short of both market expectations and April’s. San Francisco Fed announced US Q1 growth may be around 1.8％, which also lent a boost to the US dollar index.

The NBS reported home prices in China’s 70 medium and large cities rose, but prices between cities diverged. China’s A-share market closed the day down 0.58%.

Jiangsu issued RMB 52.2 billion debt today, but failed to boost market sentiment.

The US dollar index rose 0.97%；The EUR:USD decreased 1.14%. European and US stocks mostly climbed, while Asian stocks were mixed. LME base metals prices also split.

LME zinc prices are expected to move between USD 2,270-2,300/mt today. SHFE 1507 zinc contract prices will fluctuate between RMB 16,750-16,850/mt, with spot discounts of RMB 120-90/mt against SHFE 1507 zinc contract prices.

zinc prices

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

47 mins ago

Copper Prices Rose, Suppliers Lowered Premiums for Shipments, Overall Trading Was Moderate [SMM South China Spot Copper]

47 mins ago

1 hour ago

Inventory Inflection Point Emerged, Suppliers Held Back from Selling, Spot Premiums Rose [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, on the inventory side, SMM data showed that social inventory in the Shanghai area registered 188,300 mt after the holiday, up 6,500 mt WoW, while inventory in the Jiangsu area was 41,700 mt, down 1,000 mt WoW. The destocking trend in social inventory saw its first inflection point, shifting to a slight inventory buildup during the holiday period, though the increase was not yet significant, and attention should be paid to the sustainability of subsequent inventory buildup. Supply side, although the import window remained profitable, logistics disruptions in Africa led to reduced import arrivals, limiting short-term incremental spot cargo circulation. Demand side, after the rise in copper prices, end-user purchase willingness weakened, compounded by suppliers holding back from selling, spot premiums rose, and market trading was thin on both sides. Overall, under the multiple factors of high prices suppressing demand, the initial emergence of an inventory inflection point, suppliers holding back from selling, and reduced import arrivals, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2605 contract are expected to maintain a premium tomorrow.

1 hour ago

2 hours ago

[SMM Flash] Middle East Official Sulfur Selling Prices Raised Significantly for May

> Adnoc's May OSP for sulfur was $760/mt FOB, up $160/mt MoM; > KPC's May KSP was $765/mt FOB, up $195/mt MoM; > QatarEnergy's May QSP was $740/mt FOB, up $170/mt MoM.

2 hours ago