LME Zinc Inventory Hits 500,000T after 4 Years and 4 Months

Zinc ingot inventory at warehouses designated by London Metal Exchange (LME) hit 500,000 tonnes after 4 years and 4 months. Surplus ingots are brought to the warehouses when zinc demand maintains slow except from China and zinc smelters eases output reductions in response to the zinc market price upsurge.

LME zinc inventory increased by 550 tonnes to 500,350 tonnes on February 8th from the previous trading day. The inventory hit the highest level since October 2005, which equals to the global 15-day consumption. The inventory jumped by 8.6 times from the recent bottom at 58,000-59,000 tonnes in October 2007.

LME zinc inventory had increased to around 430,000 tonnes by summer 2009. The inventory amount leveled off for a while with the demand recovery in China and other countries supported by each government’s economy stimulating measures.

The inventory turned upward again in late November. Zinc demand stays low from constructions and copper alloy products in advanced countries. Another factor is that zinc smelters have increased their outputs due to zinc market price upsurge.