Zinc hits more than four-year high on supply fears
SINGAPORE: London zinc rose to its highest in more than four years on Tuesday, supported by supply concerns and limited availability outside China. Benchmark three-month zinc on the London Metal Exchange was up 2.34% at $3,974 a metric ton, as of 0300 GMT. Earlier, the contract touched $3,980.5, its highest since May 2022. The most-traded zinc contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up…
London zinc reached a four-year high on Tuesday, buoyed by supply worries and restricted access outside China. The benchmark three-month zinc on the London Metal Exchange increased by 2.34% to $3,974 per metric ton, the highest since May 2022. The most-traded zinc contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 2.94% to 27,130 yuan ($4,036.90) per ton, peaking at 27,165 yuan ($4,057.10) per ton, the highest since January 2026.
Tight raw material supply, falling refined zinc inventories outside China, and speculative positions have fueled zinc's surge, contributing to its best month since January in August on both the LME and the SHFE. Domestic Chinese inventories experienced a significant decline on Monday, with focused spot purchases on deliverable brands, according to analysts from Jinrui Futures.
Additionally, a shortage of raw material zinc concentrate has put pressure on refiners, leading some to reschedule their maintenance plans. Zinc concentrate treatment charges are notably negative due to the supply shortage, as refiners pay miners to process their material. Among LME metals, copper rose 0.8%, aluminum increased 0.83%, lead climbed 0.31%, nickel gained 0.14%, and tin advanced 0.46%.
In the SHFE metals, copper gained 0.83%, aluminum rose 0.73%, lead fell 0.65%, nickel climbed 0.68%, and tin advanced 1.25%.
Written by urgent.news from Business Recorder's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
