Zinc social inventories expanded 13,800 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Oct 16 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China surged this week, primarily propelled by a sharp increase in Tianjin.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 13,800 mt in the week ended October 16 to 162,800 mt, after an increase of 13,900 mt in the previous week. The stocks rose 3,800 mt from Monday October 12.

Increased arrivals of domestic cargoes in the market and inflow of imported zinc significantly lifted inventories in Shanghai. Stocks in Guangdong decreased as demand for die-cast zinc alloy recovered and downstream users stockpiled actively with decreasing arrivals at some smelters. In north China's Tianjin, end-user orders have decreased and raw material inventories have not been depleted by downstream consumers , leading to a sharp increase in local zinc inventories.

Stocks across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) rose 10,700 mt this week, after a 15,300 mt increase last week.