Orders to withdraw zinc from the London Metal Exchange warehouses hit 97,225 tons over the last few days, one of the largest orders in more than 10 years.
Bloomberg reports Trafigura Group — one of the world’s biggest traders and producers of the metal — is behind the order that has sent tremors across an already volatile zinc market, including:
- zinc inventory available to other buyers plummeted to a one-year low of 154,125 tons
- zinc prices surged 1.8%, reaching $3,129.50 per ton
- cumulative price increase of 5.5% observed
An anticipated zinc supply surplus of 56,000 metric tons of zinc in 2024 is now expected to be a 164,000 ton supply deficit, according to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
For a critical metal that ranks as the fourth most produced metal in the world — this is a problem.
Our analysis on volatility hitting global zinc supply: