China's refined zinc output may reach 400,000 tons in July
Shanghai. August 5. INTERFAX-CHINA - China's refined zinc output may reach 400,000 tons in July, up 9.08 percent from the volume of 366,700 tons recorded in June, an analyst said on Aug. 5.
"The country's zinc production capacity utilization rate in June was around 80 percent. Domestic refined zinc prices rebounded in July and I think Chinese zinc smelters have since ramped up operations at their facilities to full capacity," Feng Juncong, a senior analyst from Beijing Antaike Information, told Interfax.
The most-traded November zinc contract closed at RMB 15,300 ($2,239.92) per ton on Aug. 5, up 20.09 percent from the recent low of RMB 12,740 ($1,865.14) per ton on July 13.
According to Feng, domestic refined zinc prices are inflated and do not reflect fundamentals. That said, it is unlikely that prices will drop in the near term, as investor sentiment continues to remain strong, Feng said."The market is positive about China's refined zinc consumption for 2009, with some even predicting that it will grow by more than 10 percent year-on-year. I think China's refined zinc consumption will only grow by between 3 percent and 4 percent on an annual basis this year."
Meanwhile, China's zinc concentrate output may stand between 310,000 and 320,000 tons in July, according to Feng. The country's output volume in June was 317,500 tons.
-LCL