Zinc social inventories expanded 600 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Aug 21 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China rose this week, primarily propelled by a sharp increase in Shanghai and losses in Tianjin and Guangdong.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 600 mt in the week ended August 21 to 175,700 mt, after a decline of 17,000 mt in the previous week. The stocks dropped 1,500 mt from Monday August 17.

Arrivals of domestic products at east China’s Shanghai increased this week, affecting domestic zinc demand. In addition, the arrival of some smelters increased, and inventories stopped falling and rebounded.

In south China’s Guangdong, smelters turned into maintenance and zinc prices were low, leading to shrinking shipment and a continuous fall in inventories.

Inflows of materials remained limited in north China’s Tianjin, and the market is still dominated by the delivery of stocks.

Stocks across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) fell 700 mt this week, after a 15,700 mt decline in the week before.