Overnight, LME zinc prices opened at $2419.5/mt, hitting a low and high of $2419.5/mt and $2445/mt respectively, and closed at $2431.5/mt, up $6.5/mt or 0.27%. Trading volume increased to 10349 lots, and open interest grew 2351 lots to 227,000 lots. LME zinc inventory decreased by 500 mt or 0.25% to 196775 mt. Fed official Mester spoke in favor of cutting interest rates three times this year. Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari believed that the current inflation situation has improved significantly, but more concessions are needed. The dollar weakened, and LME zinc continued to destock, and LME zinc fell.
The most interest-traded SHFE 2403 zinc contract opened at 20530 yuan/mt overnight and fell to 20455 yuan/mt before rallying to a peak of 20615 yuan/mt. It eventually settled at 20570 yuan/mt, up 45 yuan/mt or 0.22%. Trading volume decreased to 29871 lots, and open interest gained by 1744 lots to 78885 lots. As the Chinese New Year holiday approaches, spot transactions in the market have been light recently, and overall downstream demand has weakened. However, with low zinc prices, smelting plant cost support has been strong.
