Steel Products Prices North America
March 16, 2019
LME Zinc Stock Squeeze Belies Balanced Markets
Written by John Packard
By CRU Group’s Zinc Analysis Team
Zinc’s price on the LME tracked copper and nickel sharply lower on March 8 as data showed a steep fall in overall Chinese exports in February. Even though January and February data from China can be misleading due to the New Year holiday, the contraction in export volumes rattled commodities markets. Zinc’s cash price settled almost $80/t lower on the day, at $2,706/t. However, the slump was short-lived as competing bull narratives returned to the fore. A pledge from China’s central bank to increase lending and ever decreasing LME stocks contributed to a switch in sentiment, with zinc’s cash price being bid up to the mid $2,800s at the start of this week, its highest level since July 2018.
