Zinc social inventories expanded 8,500 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (SMM) – Zinc inventories in China rose this week, with stocks in Shanghai increasing relatively sharply.

SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei increased 8,500 mt in the week ended January 8 to 150,000 mt. The stocks rose 2,400 mt from Monday January 4.

Stocks in Shanghai rose sharply due to increased imported zinc and increased arrivals of smelters. In south China's Guangdong, downstream restocked for rigid demand with limited arrivals, leading to the slight decline in local zinc inventories. Stocks in Tianjin piled up though traders picked up the goods from warehouses and shipped them to East China and Guangdong.

Stocks across the three major trading hubs (Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong) rose 7,400 mt this week, after a 900 mt increase last week.