Zinc social inventories rose 900 mt over weekend

SHANGHAI, Feb 1 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China rose over the weekend, primarily propelled by an increase in Guangdong.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 900 mt from last Friday January 29 to 139,100 mt as of Monday February 1. The stocks were down 7,500 mt from last Monday January 25.

Stocks in Shanghai decreased as the downstream still had restocking demand when zinc prices fell. In south China's Guangdong, the downstream was on holiday with decreased market demand and increased smelters’ arrivals, leading to an increase in local zinc inventories. Stocks in Tianjin remained stable as the downstream still had restocking demand with limited arrivals at smelters.

Compared to last Friday, social inventories of refined zinc across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) increased 1,100 mt.