Zinc social inventories extended decline by 3,700 mt over weekend

SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China continued to fall over the weekend, as downstream consumers stepped up purchases after zinc prices tumbled.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei stood at 324,000 mt as of Monday March 23, down 3,700 mt from Friday March 20 and 16,500 mt from Monday March 16.

In the week ended March 20, the stocks decreased 7,200 mt, marking the first week-on-week decline since the Lunar New Year holiday.

Guangdong, Jiangsu and Tianjin primarily contributed to the inventory decline over the weekend. Arrivals at Tianjin remained limited, while Shanghai only saw a mild decline as arrivals there were normal.

Compared to last Friday, social inventories of refined zinc across Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong fell 2,900 mt.