Zinc inventories continue to fall

The poor performance of Chinese smelters and the closure of major zinc mines in the past two years have led to global and refined zinc inventories continuing to fall, says international commodities consultancy Core Consultants MD Lara Smith. “Many smelters last year chose not to buy expensive concentrate, but instead to cut down on consumption rates and production. This was further exacerbated by environmental regulations in China, which resulted in smelter utilisation rates falling to its lowest level in five years.”