Zinc

[Lone Clone]

Singapore zinc premiums rise to $40-45/mt on tight stocks:traders

http://metalsplace.com/news/?a=13196

Spot offers for Chinese zinc were mostly heard higher at premiums of $40-45/mt in-warehouse Singapore plus the London Metal Exchange cash price, traders in Singapore said Thursday. Premiums were heard at a wide range of $20-45/mt early this week.

"Early last week, zinc premiums were heard at $20-25/mt. But at the end of the week, they rose to around $30/mt. This week I heard premiums at $40-45/mt and now only $45/mt seems to be available," one trader said.

Another trader agreed, attributing the firmer premiums to low zinc stocks in LME-approved warehouses in Singapore. A third trader said there was a lack of replenishment of zinc stocks in Singapore warehouses for the past few weeks.

A fourth trader said: "In fact, I heard offers at $30/mt when the general range was $20-25/mt last week. This week, I heard offers have gone up to $45/mt." The trader, however, added that: "It is not that material is tight. Owners are not willing to release stocks, thereby causing premiums to rise."

Zinc stocks held steady around the 20,000 mt level in early January but jumped above 30,000 mt in the middle of the month. The stocks then began to slip to the 20,000 mt level in April and below 20,000 mt in early May. The 10,000 mt mark was breached on June 16, when zinc fell to 9,975 mt. Since then, zinc continued to steadily decline, though an occasional increase was sighted. Zinc stocks fell 75 mt to 5,600 mt in Singapore, according to LME fogures Thursday.

The LME official cash price for zinc was $3,460-3,465/mt Wednesday, up $3,440-3,445/mt Tuesday.