Shanghai Nonferrous Metals News
SMM: China produced 534.5 kt of refined zinc in January 2020, down 0.47% m-o-m, but up 23.1% y-o-y. During the Chinese New Year holiday in January, several smelters ran maintenance, some small-medium smelters in Hunan suspended operations, and some large smelters continued operating as normal.
In February, with the outbreak of the NCP, domestic zinc smelters were mandated not to restart before 9 February, and the actual resumption date has been postponed further. Domestic refined zinc inventory was 60 kt at social warehouses and 80 kt at smelters during the holiday, exerting great pressure on smelters. As a result, some smelters have decided to tune down their output targets for February accordingly. Meanwhile, smelters in Yunnan and Hunan have delayed their resumption plans due to a lack of workers amid travel restrictions. Domestic refined zinc output is likely to drop m-o-m in February, and more production cuts can be expected in the case that the epidemic does not recede during the month.
