Zinc scrap and ingot prices rose in the week ending Oct 12 with prices up between 1-5pc for major grades. LME zinc three-month official contract rose $116/mt or up 5pc to $2,433.5/mt on Friday from the previous week. Offers for zinc scrap and ingots were revised upwards which pushed Davis Indexes up for major grades.
Zinc Dross
The Davis Index for zinc galvanizer’s dross in Delhi Monday rose by Rs1,837/mt to settle at Rs164,375/mt ($2,248/mt) ex-works producer from the previous week. With fewer active infrastructure projects, steel galvanizing orders have decreased resulting in lower production of dross. The Davis Index for zinc galvanizer’s dross in Mumbai rose by Rs8,910/mt to settle at Rs165,500/mt ex-works producer on Monday from a week ago. In Mumbai, sustained power cuts reduced production in certain regions while some smelters remained unaffected.
Prices of Special High-Grade (SHG) zinc were around Rs200,000-202,000/mt on Monday up by approximately Rs2,000/mt from the previous Monday. This led to galvanizer’s increasing prices of dross. The markets for zinc dross in Delhi weakened as spreads widened by 3.4pc from the previous week despite a rise in domestic prices as LME zinc rose by 5pc. On the contrary, markets for zinc dross in Mumbai strengthened as domestic prices rose, lifting our index by 5.69pc which resulted in spreads narrowing marginally by 0.73pc from the previous week.
Secondary zinc ingot
Consumers of secondary zinc ingots, brass makers, said that demand for brass end products is low and there is uncertainty in the market which is holding them for refilling inventories. The Davis Index for secondary zinc ingot in Mumbai settled at Rs167,500/mt ex-works consumer, up by Rs5,350/mt on Monday from the preceding week. The weekly index for Delhi rose by Rs4,625/mt to Rs168,625/mt ex-works consumer from the previous Monday. Demand for secondary zinc ingots will only increase when demand for brass increases and infrastructure activities pick up pace in India.
The market for secondary zinc ingot in both Mumbai and Delhi weakened in terms of spreads which narrowed by 1.42pc and 1.88pc, respectively, in a week. Domestic prices did rise in line with LME zinc as the index for Mumbai rose by 3.30pc and Delhi was up by 2.82pc.
New zinc diecast
The Davis Index for new zinc diecast Monday settled at $1,943/mt cfr India port, up by $85/mt from the previous week driven by a slight shortage of material and the rise in LME zinc, said traders. The spread for new zinc diecast widened marginally, depicting a weakened market in India despite a price rise of approximately 4.5pc while LME rose 5pc. Demand for the material is low said traders and fewer trades occurred on Monday compared to previous weeks but offers were raised on the back of an uptick in LME and tight supply.
Zinc alloy
Prices of Zamak #3 and Zamak #5 rose on Monday on the back of higher SHG zinc prices and LME zinc. Primary zinc prices rose between Rs2,000-2,500/mt and prices of Zamak also moved up in a similar price trend.
The Davis Index for Zamak #3 settled up by Rs205,750/mt del India consumer on Monday from the preceding week and the index for Zamak #5 settled at Rs208,750/mt del India consumer, up by Rs2,300/mt from the prior Monday.
In the north, producers rued of lower demand but had to raise prices in line with the higher raw material cost. Subdued infrastructure sector is impacting demand for Zamak, however, demand from the auto sector is stable, said manufacturers. Davis Index learnt from major die-casters that demand from end-users is not as strong as expected and therefore manufacturers are buying Zamak and other necessary alloys as per orders received from downstream industries rather than refilling raw material inventory.
There is a shortage of zinc scrap globally and in India, this can support prices in the coming days, shared market participants. Construction at infrastructure projects is very slow, however, the sector is improving slightly which could drive demand in the coming weeks.
($1=Rs73.1)