Zinc Rises a Fourth Straight Day; Supply Growth May Lag Demand
By Chia-Peck Wong
Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Zinc rose for the fourth straight day in London on forecasts that supply may not grow quickly enough to meet rising demand from steelmakers.
Prices of the metal, used to galvanize steel, have almost doubled this year after inventories fell 66 percent as zinc miners didn't increase production fast enough.
``It's quite possible we will see even higher prices in the short term,'' Stephen Briggs, analyst at Societe Generale, one of 11 companies that trade on the floor of the London Metal Exchange, said in a presentation today.
Zinc for delivery in three months rose $20, or 0.6 percent, to $3,670 a metric ton at 1:22 p.m. in London. Prices have gained 11 percent since Oct. 4.
Stockpiles of the metal fell for the 11th straight day to 133,475 tons, the exchange said today in a daily report. Global supply of refined zinc is likely to lag behind consumption by 420,000 tons this year, Briggs said.
Supply will continue to remain short of demand next year, Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Francisco Blanch said in a report dated yesterday.
Copper fell $45, or 0.6 percent, to $7,405 a ton on the LME. Stockpiles of
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